Beck put out a new video for the song “Gamma Ray” and it definitely isn’t what I expected. It’s kinda psychedelic so I’ll give him a break on the new hairdo but not on being a Scientologist.

My first experience with Spiritualized was shortly after they released “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space,” a beautifully plodding collection of altitude dementia and psychedelic landscapes. Great album to listen to while sitting around, stoned out of your brain while watching candles drip, by the way.

My second experience with Spiritualized happened when they opened for Radiohead at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Easily the most boring set I had witnessed up to that point. While the music was decent, it was less than lively, and the lack of a visual element made it even less engaging.

I guess to truly enjoy Spiritualized you also need something neat to look at. With that, J-Spaceman has launched SpiritualizedHarmonies, a website that links a visual component to Spiritualized’s vividly textural music. Check it out.

I’ll let you know if it works stoned later on.

Can you dig on western/psychedelic? Do you enjoy both The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as well as the Brian Jonestown Massacre? If so, you’re going to love Spindrift. I played with this gang of five at Sacramento’s Press Club on Monday night, and they are the real deal.

Spindrift enlists members from both LA and Portland, and are currently showcasing The Legend of God’s Gun, which they perform as a soundtrack for the soon to be released film. God’s Gun is an incredible piece of work, and anybody that gets the chance to check this band out should do so immediately.

Big thanks to Sludge Swamp for turning me on to this stuff. I was perusing their archives for some cool stuff to put on a mix CD for an upcoming BBQ, when I stumbled upon the psychedelic doom of Jex Thoth. Formerly known as Totem, the band takes its name from its beguiling frontwoman, who seems to have a bit of Grace Slick coursing through her veins (and God knows what else).

It’s nice to see how diverse the metal scene is getting, especially since that’s all I’ve been listening to lately, and I usually like to mix it up. This stuff is spacey, hypnotic but still has plenty of rock punch, and it doesn’t completely drag ass like a lot of doom you’ll hear. Jex Thoth releases albums on I Hate Records, which is out of Sweden (Jex Thoth hails from California), but unfortunately, their debut LP seems to have been delayed due to a printing error. With any luck, they’ll be able to fix that up soon.

I am trying not to just phone this one in, because this band hails from Quebec, and if there’s anything more fierce and brutal than a Canadian, it’s a French-Canadian, and I don’t want these guys to track me down and beat the living end out of me. Luckily, by the sound of their jangle-pop, I think I can take them. Fuck it, I’m just phoning this one in then.

After The Weather has some pretty definite Britpop/psychedelic and frenetic Pacific Northwest influences, a not unpleasantly awkward-voiced singer and a shit ton of energy. I’m hearing Television vs. Hot Hot Heat, debating over whether The Arcade Fire holds up after repeated listens. Their name that is more clever upon further inspection (i.e., reading their bio): “After The Weather is a phrase that has no meaning without the context of television news.” Nice.

I would totally do recreational drugs with these guys if one of my bands played a show with them. Then we’d talk about how shamefully underrated the Stone Roses were, how the newer Digitech Whammy pedals aren’t as cool as the old ones, then we’d go out and try and pick up girls and probably fail. Shit, when you all coming to California? I just mapped out our evening.

Instrumentation
Matthew Hills - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Rob Helsten - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Trevor Zaavedra - Drums

Discography
Self Titled EP - After The Weather

You can check them out on their space HERE.

And if you’re in the Montreal, Quebec area, check them out live:

Apr 5 2008 10:00P Bistro de Paris Montréal, Quebec
Apr 18 2008 8:00P Barfly Montreal, Quebec
May 2 2008 8:00P 3 Minots Montreal, Quebec
May 9 2008 9:00P Pub Saint-Ciboire Montreal, Quebec
May 20 2008 8:00P Bar St. Laurent 2 Montreal, Quebec
Jun 15 2008 8:00P Café Chaos Montreal, Quebec

I had never heard of Aqua Dots or Bindeez Beads until yesterday, when it was announced that their manufacturer is recalling all the Aqua Dots in Australia and the US. As it turns out, when ingested, that shit turns into something close to GHB (a common type of roofie) once inside your body.

They look just plain delicious, don’t they?

So where, exactly, were the Bindeez/Aqua Dots manufactured? Where else but the leading producer of fuck-your-kids-up-with-lead-paint, and favorite US trading partner, China.

From Moose World:

The company’s products, which are manufactured by internationally approved toy
manufacturers in China, are subject to world standard independent testing. Moose
Enterprise has not experienced any safety concerns with its products since the company
was purchased by its current management team six years ago.
The product was immediately withdrawn from sale yesterday and parents can receive a
refund by freecalling 1800 303 895 or email returns@moosetoys.com .
Further information will be made available as soon as possible.
Media enquiries:
Peter Mahon
Royce Communications
Tel 03 9639 2300 / 0418 351 754

I swear, China must really have it in for our kids. It’s almost like they want to kill off or make vegetables out of our next generation, making it all the more easier to assume global hegemony/world leader status in the next 15 - 20 years. But that could never happen. Never. Ever. Even they say they’d never do that. And they would never lie to us.

As of now, you can still buy Bindeez online. Get your orders for cheap child date rape drugs in while you still can…