Personally, Spoon has never really done it for me. But any band with a former member of the Get Up Kids (in Spoon’s case, bassist Rob Pope ) is a band I will support. And besides, Spoon stacks cred like Visa. Here’s the release:

Following on a standing-room-only U.S. tour that culminated in the Don’t You Evah EP entering Billboard’s singles sales chart at #1, Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope-collectively known as Spoon-have confirmed their final live engagements of 2008.
This last run of Spoon shows will be preceded by a May 3 Britt Daniel solo performance at the Belly Up in Solana Beach CA. From there, the full band will be headlining the KNRK Pet Aid Benefit in Troutdale OR, playing their biggest ever New York show July 15 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, appearing at the Mile High and Pitchfork festivals, making their debut at the Hollywood Bowl September 20 supporting Beck, and concluding with a three-night residency at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco-the last dates of the tour and first Spoon SF headline engagement since the July 2007 release of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Tickets for the Fillmore shows go on sale to the general public May 11. These dates will mark the close of more than a year’s worth of touring in support of Spoon’s sixth full-length studio album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which was Spoon’s first Top 10 album and most acclaimed release of their career.

Tour dates after the fold BAATCH

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With the annual Earth Day celebrations set for next week, environmental consciousness seems to be all the rage . Personally though, there are few things that provoke such utter ambivalence in me than environmentalism and its status as a growing force in the global zeitgeist. It’s not that I don’t agree that something needs to be done. I think anyone with any shred of common sense realizes that the current model of “modern living” does not pencil out in the long run when you factor in the finite nature of not just our resources but also with the space in which we are working. However, acknowledging that “inconvenient truth” is one thing, but actually coming up with a solution, not to mention implementing it, is entirely another. Some people say the solution is to start “living green,” which is definitely a nice little slogan. And at face value, it has some merit. But in practice, it’s basically become nothing more than another way to do the same shit and feel better about it. It’s sort of like Christianity: It was founded upon a noble enough principle, but once the idea started to become the institution, shit started to get all fucked up. I mean, how many years did it take after Jesus supposedly taught everyone to love everyone else before dudes were killing people in his name? How many years has it been since the idea of “living green” came about before Wal-Mart changed their logo from blue to green, or Clorox started making Organic Bleach?
Another trait common amongst organized religions definitely shared by the Church of Green is the penchant for those who “believe” to merely select the parts of the church doctrine that they can most easily adhere to and blatantly ignore the rest, all while maintaining an air of piousness. It’s like the militant bike rider, railing against SUVs and cars as greenhouse gas-belching pollution machines, who doesn’t bat an eye about flying home three times a year to see the folks, spewing pollution directly into the upper atmosphere. Or how about the eco-conscious housewife, who makes sure to turn off the lights when she leaves a room to conserve energy and bought herself a Civic hybrid to cut back on emissions, but then serves her family burgers for dinner, the production of which released more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than three hours of driving, and used up more energy than leaving a light on for 20 straight days, not to mention that disproportional amount of localized pollution created by large-scale meat farms and the role of overuse of antibiotics in the beef industry in creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. I guess it’s the thought that counts, right?
I guess the moral of the story is, however popular the green meme has become, its actual utility is questionable at best. For now, living green will continue to be something you can buy at the store, use in your marketing campaign or learn as a college internship: an ideal. Carbon neutrality will continue to be something you buy on a Web site, like a Christian indulgence. It’s gonna take a lot more to kick mankind’s addiction to consumption than a few melted ice caps, killer hurricanes and deadly droughts. We need to hit rock bottom, man. I’m talking Old Testament style shit. People are too lazy and stupid to do what they actually know is right until they literally have no other choice. We’ll just keep building malls and damming rivers and jacking up our pickup trucks until our eyes are melting out of our fucking skulls and even then, we’ll just invent some better sunglasses, made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic!

Synthesis sent photographer extrordinaire Pamela Morgan to catch The Boss last Friday night in Sacramento. Due to photo stipulations she was positioned more than 100 feet back (the Boss needs his space, aiight?), but she managed to capturesome great moments, including this wicked shot of Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt (Silvio lives!) and Max Weinberg.

We’ll have more photos and Pam’s report in the next few days. Maybe we’ll even get the photos up on our photo section…uh…coming soon.

In further proof that SXSW has indeed jumped the shark, internet gossip queen Perez Hilton is taking applications from “press” and “industry” to see if they have what it takes to come to his SXSW party. Uhhhhhhhh. According to his site,  “It’s going to be the sickest, most amazing party!!!!” or at least tied with Rachael Ray’s. Water skis PLZ!

Copy-Pasta courtesy of the New Music Tipsheet.

List after the jump or if you want to download the pdf go here brah:

Photo of the 2007 SXSW Synthesis / Drive-Thru Dayparty at Emo’s by Melissa Hellaver

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So reports say that Winona Ryder, actress, one-time sticky fingers and groupie extraordinarie may or may not be getting married to Rilo Kiley/ The Elected guitarist Blake Sennett.

this guy.

Her reps are saying this ins’t true, but Ryder allegedly announced her engagement during the 2008 Valentino fashion show in Paris. Maybe she just got super excited/drunk on the most romantic city in the world. The pair originally met up during the filming of feature film Water Pill.

If nothing else, this episode adds to the litany of famous/semi-famous actors and musicians who have reportedly gotten down with the big brown beaver. This all star cast includes Johnny Depp (engaged for three years beginning in July 1990), Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum, Dave Grohl, Matt Damon, Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, Helmet’s Page Hamilton, Ryan Adams and Conor Oberst. There’s probably several more. Yeah, whatever, you’d hit it too.