I really dug their last album, and seeing as how their publicist just sent me an embed code for the new Octopus Project video….Here’s some trippy brain candy.

Octopus Project Tour Dates:
* w/ Diagonals
08/05 Norman, OK @ Opolis
08/06 Lubbock, TX @ Tequila Station
08/11 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room*
08/12 Tucson, AZ @ Congress Theater*
08/13 San Diego, CA @ The Cashbash*
08/14 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory*
08/15 Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door*
08/16 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of The Hill*
08/18 Portland, OR @ Satyricon*
08/19 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge*
08/20 Vancouver, BC @ Richard’s
08/22 Edmonton, AL @ Velvet Lounge
08/23 Calgary, AL @ Hi Fi
08/25 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
08/26 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
08/28 Dallas, TX @ Lola’s*
08/29 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live* .
09/28 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival

My first introduction to Anticon Records was from someone who absolutely HATED what they were putting out. This, sadly, colored my opinion for some time; that is until my cousin (currently studying international law at Harvard…so I’ll have someone to represent me once I finally get caught for my various illicit activities I enjoy so liberally) burned me a mix CD of some of their artists. It was then that I figured out that Anticon isn’t quite the self-important backpack hip-hop label my friend made them out to be — Its stable of artists is more composed of experimental rock, sample/electronica artists. There’s a love and appreciation of hip-hop within most of these artists, but it’s not straight up beats and verses, far from it. As for my Anticon hating friend, sometimes it pays to take opinions with a grain of salt (or in this case, an entire shaker).

For me, Anticon artist Why? leads the label roster with inventive, glitchy indie-rock with an almost They Might be Giants vocal delivery and dark, contemplation-worthy poetic lyrics. It’s on some real shit, real sink-your-teeth-into sounds. Worth your attention, for sure. Love their cover of “Close To Me,” by The Cure, too. Why? is heading out on tour, and their publicist was kind enough to alert us.

From Force Field PR:

It’s been a busy and interesting year for WHY?, since the release of their acclaimed album Alopecia in March, the band has been touring the world almost non-stop, with a U.S. tour in the Spring and a lengthy European tour that immediately followed. Only one slight hiccup - while in Europe, two of the band members (brothers Yoni and Josiah Wolf) got the mumps, and on top of that, Yoni broke his hand. The band has soldiered on despite these minor setbacks and has scheduled another full North American tour for the fall, with pals Mount Eerie, Tussle and Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow) opening along the way.

Check out their video for “Song of the Sad Assassin” right here:

Tour dates (courtesy of Force Field PR) after the jump (more…)

[The following entry was written by Synthesis Weekly columnist Emilie Clark. She can be reached at emilie@synthesis.net ]

I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley
Riverhead

I, like everyone else interested in book publishing, journalism, music or theater, have always fantasized about moving to New York City. That’s where it all happens, you know, and I heard if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. I discarded that pipe dream a while back, but NYC still interests me. Which is why I read Gawker on occasion and keep up on the New York literary world though the Internet. I guess it’s inevitable to know a lot about the city and its inhabitants since most media spawns from within its confines. This is a long-winded way of saying that I had some definite preconceptions about New York publicist Sloane Crosley’s debut book.
According to The New York Observer, Sloane Crosley’s path to writing started with a mass e-mail to some friends describing a story that would later become an essay in the book. The story is about how when moving from one apartment to another (three blocks away) she locked herself out of both apartments. It’s a funny story in the book and I’m sure it was a funny e-mail, but that’s not important. What’s important is that one of her friends — and therefore e-mail recipient — was the editor at The Village Voice and offered to publish a polished-up version of the story. This is essentially how Crosley became famous. And it’s also why I’m having a hard time liking her. I can’t help but wonder how different my life and writing career would be if I were friends with the editor of The Village Voice. But I guess my envy is really neither here nor there.

Now that we’ve whetted your interest, the actual review can be found after the jump… (more…)