Wow, my heart really sank when I realized that I will be unable to catch the Andrew Bird / Loney Dear show in San Francisco. Andrew Bird issued one of thebest performances I caught at SXSW 2007, and Loney Dear’s “I Am John” never gets rest with me, appearing on pretty much every mix tape I’ve made in the last two years.

I guess I missed the memo that Loney Dear split from Sub Pop, but they (or he, as the band is basically centered around Emil Svanängen) will have a new album out on Polyvinyl entitled “Dear John” early 2009. In the meantime I’ll just have to watch this video over and over and over….
“I Am John”

And in keepign with the theme, here’s an animated Andrew Bird video:
“Lull (Daytrotter Version)”

LONEY DEAR

12/10 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
12/12 Brooklyn, NY Union Hall
01/29 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
01/30 Boston, MA The Orpheum*
02/03 Washington, DC The 930 Club*
02/04 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse*
02/06 Orlando, FL The Plaza*
02/07 New Orleans, LA House of Blues*
02/09 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
02/10 Houston, TX Rudyard’s British Pub
02/11 Denton, TX Hailey’s
02/12 Austin, TX The Paramount Theater*
02/13 Albuquerque, NM The El Rey*
02/14 Tucson, AZ The Rialto*
02/17 Visalia, CA Howie and Son’s Pizza
02/18 Los Angeles, CA The Orpheum*
02/19 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
02/20 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
02/21 Portland, OR Roseland*
02/23 Seattle, WA The Moore*
02/24 Boise, ID The Knitting Factory*
02/25 Murray, UT The Murray*
02/26 Denver, CO The Ogden*
02/27 Omaha, NE Slowdown*
03/01 Chicago, IL Schubas

* = w/ Andrew Bird

Loney Dear press release following the jump.
(more…)

Kevin Powell is a former cast member from the first season of MTV’s The Real World. Now he’s running for Congress in the 10th district (Brooklyn) of New York. I don’t think being on The Real World is any sort of credential but he does have a BA in Political Science. At least he was on the show before it went completely downhill and turned to crap.

He is up against Ed Towns, a 13-year incumbent, so we probably won’t see him in office anytime soon. Powell thinks “civic engagement should be a part of our values as much as MTV and Xbox.” He is trying to get more young people involved and what better way than making a tape of his speeches mixed with music from Tupac, 50 Cent and Kanye West?