Vampire Weekend
The Blow
*Merry Swankster is far away on a much overdue vacation, for Denver listings this week we point you to Gigbot.
March 13th, 2010
Bracket Fever! First Round Voting: Neutral Milk Hotel Region
Welcome to day three of the voting. The DJ Shadow and Nirvana regions are still open.
Directions: Click on the album title to listen to that album. Select Blog Poll to vote on that match-up.
Game 1: #1 Stankonia by Outkast vs. #16 Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
Game 2: #8 Bows & Arrows by the Walkmen vs. #9 Her Majesty the Decemberists by the Decemberists
Game 3: #5 Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol vs. #12 Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Game 4: #4 Merryweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective vs. #13 Someone to Drive You Home by the Long Blondes
Game 5: #6 Blueberry Boat by the Fiery Furnaces vs. #11 The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian
Game 6: #3 Is This It by the Strokes vs. #14 They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top by the Liars
Game 7: #7 Come On Feel the Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens vs. #10 Shut Up I Am Dreaming by Sunset Rubdown
Game 8: #2 Discovery by Daft Punk vs. #2 Leviathan by Mastodon
March 13th, 2010
Bracket Fever! First Round Voting: Nirvana Region
Welcome to day two of the voting, and the first day of voting in this region. (The DJ Shadow Region is still open for voting.)
Directions: Click on the album name to listen to that album. Select “Blog Poll” to vote on that match-up.
Game 1: #1 Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem vs. #16 Sonic Nurse by Sonic Youth
Game 2: #8 Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs vs. #9 Echoes by the Rapture
Game 3: #5 Silent Shout by the Knife vs. #12 Source Tags & Codes by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Game 4: #4 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco vs. #13 The Body, the Blood, the Machine by the Thermals
Game 5: #6 Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah vs. #11 Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
Game 6: #3 Kala by M.I.A. vs. #14 Things We Lost in the Fire by Low
Game 7: #7 Boxer by the National vs. #10 Smile by Brian Wilson
Game 8: #2 Funeral by Arcade Fire vs. #15 LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
March 13th, 2010
Bracket Fever! First Round Voting: DJ Shadow Region
The first round of voting for this region begins today and will be open until Friday, March 19. Be sure to check back to this sight, because the remaining regions will open up for voting later on today.
Directions: Click on the album name to listen to that album. Select “Blog Polls” to vote on that match-up.
Game 1: #1 Kid A by Radiohead vs. #16 Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? by the Unicorns
Game 2: #8 Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030 vs. #9 Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
Game 3: #5 Person Pitch by Panda Bear vs. #12 Madvillainy by Madvillain
Game 4: #4 The Blueprint by Jay-Z vs. #14 You Are Free by Cat Power
Game 5: #6 Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? by Of Montreal vs. #11 Third by Portishead
Game 6: #3 Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros vs. #14 The Airing of Grievances by Titus Andronicus
Game 7: #7 Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors vs. #10 All Hail West Texas by the Mountain Goats
Game 8: #2 Since I Left You by the Avalanches vs. #15 Chutes to Narrow by the Shins
March 8th, 2010
Denver/Boulder Shows this week*
Pretty Lights: all over Colorado this week
*Merry Swankster is far away on a much overdue vacation, for Denver listings this week we point you to Gigbot.
March 7th, 2010
Return of Bracket Fever
After giving ourselves a couple of months to re-asses the previous decade’s worth of music, we at the new and improved Merry Swankster dot com are finally throwing our collective hat into the ring of retrospective. Over the next few weeks, all of you will help us determine the best album of the first ten years of the twenty-first century using a handsome tournament bracket. By this point, we assume that you’ve had the opportunity to listen to most, if not all, of the music listed in this tournament, so we’ll presently keep our analysis to a minimum.
The rankings and match-ups are done in a similar style as the actual NCAA selection committee, meaning we pick the most recognizable names regardless of actual performance we collaboratively hashed out what we believed to be the albums that most accurately represent the previous decade’s best work. Combining the varied tastes of our writers provided a roster of albums that span genres and commercial success without sacrificing the under-the-radar and off-the-reservation perspectives you’ve come to expect from Merry Swankster.
Starting next week, you’ll be able to vote on each round of the tournament. Below are the complete seeded regions; in an attempt to be as inclusive as possible, we purposefully capped the albums at one per artist (with two exceptions). You can also download a printable PDF of the whole bracket: Albums of the 00s Bracket
DJ Shadow Region: (1) Radiohead, Kid A; (2) The Avalanches, Since I Left You; (3) Sigur Ros, Agaetis Byrjun; (4) Jay-Z, The Blueprint; (5) Panda Bear, Person Pitch; (6) Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?; (7) Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca; (8) Deltron 3030, Deltron 3030; (9) Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary; (10) The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas; (11) Portishead, Third; (12) Madvillain, Madvillainy; (13) Cat Power, You Are Free; (14) Titus Andronicus, The Airing of Grievances; (15) The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow; (16) The Unicorns, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?
Nirvana Region: (1) LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver; (2) Arcade Fire, Funeral; (3) M.I.A., Kala; (4) Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; (5) The Knife, Silent Shout; (6) Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele; (7) The National, Boxer; (8) Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever to Tell; (9) The Rapture, Echoes; (10) Brian Wilson, Smile; (11) The Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury; (12) …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Source Tags & Codes; (13) The Thermals, The Body, the Blood, the Machine; (14) Low, Things We Lost in the Fire; (15) LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem; (16) Sonic Youth, Sonic Nurse
Neutral Milk Hotel Region: (1) Outkast, Stankonia; (2) Daft Punk, Discovery; (3) The Strokes, Is This It; (4) Animal Collective, Merryweather Post Pavilion; (5) Interpol, Turn On the Bright Lights; (6) The Fiery Furnaces, Blueberry Boat; (7) Sufjan Stevens, Come On Feel the Illinoise; (8) The Walkmen, Bows & Arrows; (9) The Decemberists, Her Majesty the Decemberists; (10) Sunset Rubdown, Shut Up, I Am Dreaming; (11) Belle & Sebastian, The Life Pursuit; (12) Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand; (13) The Long Blondes, Someone to Drive You Home; (14) The Liars, They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top; (15) Mastodon, Leviathan; (16) Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
Pavement Region: (1) The White Stripes, White Blood Cells; (2) Kanye West, The College Dropout; (3) Modest Mouse, The Moon and Antarctica; (4) Spoon, Kill the Moonlight; (5) Broken Social Scene, You Forgot it in People; (6) TV on the Radio, Dear Science,; (7) Sleater-Kinney, The Woods; (8) Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy; (9) Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend; (10) The Microphones, The Glow Pt. 2; (11) Fugazi, The Argument; (12) Deerhunter, Cryptograms; (13) The New Pornographers, Electric Version; (14) Radiohead, In Rainbows; (15) Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven; (16) Annie, Anniemal
March 5th, 2010
Your racist uncle’s worst nightmare
Jay Z in the White House Situation Room
Jay Z visited the White House this week and got some face time with the Jigga in chief:
During the final moments of his performance at Verizon Center Wednesday night, Jay-Z casually dropped a gigantic boast: “I just came from the White House.”
White House officials were button-lipped about the visit Wednesday, but confirmed on Thursday morning that, yes, Jay-Z did indeed visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. An official said the rapper toured the White House on Wednesday and had a quick, unscheduled visit with President Obama. The POTUS did not attend the concert.
It’s a long ways away from the Marcy Houses.
March 4th, 2010
News: Phish likely to play Telluride shows this summer
Telluride - Photo cred
Not confirmed yet, but Phish is likely to play two huge Telluride shows this summer on August 9 & 10 following Telluride’s annual Bluegrass Festival. To call Telluride beautiful is an understatement. It’s like Earth porn. This should be interesting.
The band would play for 9,000 people, said Craig Ferguson, the organizer of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He’s working with Phish’s promoter, AEG Live, on bringing the band here.
If 9,000 people show up, that would make the Phish concert one of the biggest events of the summer, up there with Bluegrass and Blues and Brews.
CCAASE members voted unanimously to put the concert on the calendar, and raised few serious objections.
“There’s clearly an economic benefit to having them come,” said board member Dawn Ibis.
Representatives from the Telluride Jazz Celebration attended. The Phish shows are on a Monday and Tuesday directly following the Jazz festival’s weekend. (via)
Bracket Fever! First Round Voting: Pavement Region
Posted by Randall MontyWelcome to the Pavement Region of the Bracket. The other three regions are still open for voting.
Directions: Click on the album’s title to listen to that album. Select “Blog Poll” to vote on that match-up.
And be sure to check back next weekend for the second round of voting!
Game 1: #1 White Blood Cells by the White Stripes vs. #16 Anniemal by Annie
Blog Polls
Game 2: #8 Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River vs. #9 Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
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Blog Polls
Game 3: #5 You Forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene vs. #12 Cryptograms by Deerhunter
Blog Polls
Game 4: #4 Kill the Moonlight by Spoon vs. #13 Electric Version by the New Pornographers
Blog Polls
Game 5: #6 Dear Science by TV on the Radio vs. #11 The Argument by Fugazi
Blog Polls
Game 6: #3 The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse vs. #14 In Rainbows by Radiohead
Blog Polls
Game 7: #7 The Woods by Sleater-Kinney vs. #11 The Glow Pt. 2 by the Microphones
Blog Polls
Game 8: #2 The College Dropout by Kanye West vs. #15 Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Blog Polls
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