So this is old news for anyone who actually listened to Drive-Thru records artist Halifax’s new record when it came out last year (which is probably about 5 people), but just now in the office, one of our video guys was encoding the video for Halifax’s “Our Revolution” for our top secret forthcoming project and it reminded me exactly how much of fucking scam that song is. Check out the video:

Then check out the video for the classic. Same riff, same beat, same chorus. JUST 20 YEARS TOO LATE BRO! TOTALLY BUMMED!

Kucinich ‘08 motherfucker. Also known as wasting my own goddamn time.

I’m happy to announce that it took nearly a year after its renovation for our downtown park to once again attract drug dealers. Walking through the other day I heard a “hey you!” whistle, and a scruffy older hippy approached, asking if I wanted a 20 sack of “the kind.” Ah, the perks of being a longhair… Hippies like to use the word “the kind” around here to denote quality marijuana, and although Seattle’s The Kindness Kind includes a longhaired drummer, I’d like to think their band name has more interesting connotations than the sticky weed. Maybe they’re just super nice…

I’m really feeling their track “The Rain came late,” expansive indie-pop with twinkling keyboards and sultry, sleepy vocals. Then it gets WAY big with churning waves of guitar and retro-tone synthesizers. That they recorded their album A Novel at Bear Creek where Blonde Redhead laid down tracks is fitting. You can purchase their new album, A Novel Here.

Check out their West Coast tour stops after the jump;
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November 12, 1970: Florence, Oregon. Some jackasses blow up a beached whale. Today: Google trends says that people are looking up “Exploding whale,” most likely because of a spot on CNN’s “News to Me.” Regardless, the three seconds between the whale’s discorporation and the spectators’ realization that they’re about to be covered on charred blubber is priceless.

This past summer I had the awesome opportunity to spend a month on tour with Ruth, an amazing band that thankfully many people have now definitely heard of, since they just got off the road with Switchfoot and Relient K. Since all we basically did for a month was throw fire crackers at each other and eat Waffle House there was plenty of time to sit around and listen to music, taking turns turning each other on………….to new music [c'mon now, this is a family blog]. One night Ruth frontman, and namesake, Dustin Ruth put on some shit that he was jocking, and we all agreed that it was pretty badass. The band was called Pomegranates, like the fruit, and the juice. Here’s what they say about themselves:

Pomegranates began in the young minds of Jacob Merritt and Isaac Karns, long time friends whose respective musical projects had recently disbanded. With a mutual desire to continue making music, the two began penning songs. Immediately they felt this new project was heading places, so they solicited the help of Joey Cook, and the three got down to business. Their initial practice session gave shape to what would later become their first song, “Nursery Magic”. This was November 2006.

Four months later the band recorded their debut EP, Two Eyes, at The Lunchington in Columbus. The five-song disc was tracked in two days and boasts intricate, melodic guitar arrangements adorned by bells, samplings and keys. Hand claps and tambourines actualize in the quirky percussion section, while falsetto vocals dance delightfully above. This is sophisticated stuff for such a youthful band. When Two Eyes hit streets June 12 of 2007, it was no more than a week later they were inking a deal with indie label, Lujo Records. The bands forthcoming LP ‘Everything is Alive’ will be released in Spring of 2008.

If “Hand claps and tambourines” actualizing in the “quirky percussion section, while falsetto vocals dance delightfully above” doesn’t sound cute enough, than how about their list of influences?

Grizzly bears shooting lightning out of their eyes and riding rainbows.

Um…can someone say bad ass????! Check the doods out on the Space and tell them to come to California already.

The thing about voting, is that it ranks on my priority list somewhere between looking for worms in my cat’s ass and staring at the wall. Its not like I don’t appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the democratic process. Actually, I kind of don’t. Voting is like joining the Army. You don’t have to because some one else who cares way more about it always will. And besides, what do I know about anything anyway? For example, Proposition 92 on this year’s ballot “establishes independent community college districts and Board of Governors. Requires minimum funding for schools and community colleges to be calculated separately and blah, blah, blah.” What the fuck do I know about funding for schools and community colleges? Don’t we pay people to know about this kind of shit already? And I actually graduated from college, unlike the majority of dumbfucks who will probably actually vote one way or another on this proposition. Why would I waste my time making a studied, factual based decision on something like this, when I know that the votes of 34,534,459 ignorant pieces of shit are going to count just as much as mine? People who vote are like the people who write letters to the newspaper. If they knew shit about anything they’d either be writing for the newspaper already, or too busy actually doing something worthwhile to bother pissing in the wind by penning a letter destined to be read only by all the other bored people on the outside looking in on the world of influence. Voting is like trying to go to Sears and pick out some really cool clothes: you know, and I know, that they don’t sell that shit at Sears. Anyone I’d actually wanna vote for wouldn’t be allowed within 50 feet of a ballot, even in California. And propositions? Wigga please. Voting yes or no on a proposition in like voting yes or no on whether the sun is gonna come up tomorrow. You think that some shit that enough people with enough money want bad enough is gonna be derailed by a bunch of powerless middle class folks using the Power of the Vote? Hell no. I guess its pretty cliche, to be the apathetic middle-class white male twenty-something. Maybe if I was a woman, or a minority, or someone who had pulled themselves up from the depths of poverty by the power of sheer will and determination I might be a little more excited about trying to change the world one vote at a time. But as far I’m concerned the world is pretty much fucked no matter what anyway so who cares? We could have a handicapped, black, female Green Party president and we’d still be doing the same stupid shit, all the while cutting down forests worth of trees to make the paper on which to print up 100 million meaningless ballots every year so people can feel the warm placation of “deciding” to agree or disagree with what those with real influence have already determined will happen.

And the best part of all this? The absolute 100% certainty that a bunch of people will make sure to tell me how stupid I am for not voting, that it’s people like me “who let George W. Bush become president.” Actually, its the fucking millions of dumbshit Americans who voted for his ass who let him become president. And if I’m so stupid, why would you want me to vote anyway? If I’m such an idiot, shouldn’t you be glad that I’m not deciding your laws, your leaders? If all the people I thought were stupid didn’t vote, I might actually do it, because there’d be about 5 voters, total. And they’d all vote for me as President of The Universe because I win at life. So before you get all hot under the collar, take a moment to realize how much stupider you are than me, then write me a letter thanking me for providing you such insight, free of charge. Then vote for me, as a write-in candidate. You’re Welcome.