It’s not groundbreaking or anything, but this year’s lineup for Coachella is certainly better than last year’s, and this year the event goes down on two weekends in April. The headliners are legit, and the reunions are pretty solid too (Mazzy Star, Pulp, Refused, At the Drive In.) If C3 and ACL know what’s good for them, some of these artists, including the headliners, Araabmuzik, the Weeknd, The Shins, EMA, Kendrick Lamar, Azealia Banks, and several others, will make the journey south in October. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.
The day has finally come, or as the band put it on their Twitter feed: “This station is now operational.” El Paso’s finest At the Drive In have announced they are getting back together for…something. Some shows/festivals/a tour, maybe? At this point, nothing has been determined, though I’m not holding my breath for a new album, as Jim Ward is pretty knee-deep in his solo material and the Mars Volta are currently working on their own new release. Still, this small tidbit of news from a band that hasn’t played together in eleven years is certainly exciting. It’s likely they’ll play a date in Austin, so I may actually get to hear “Pattern Against User” live! That’s one to check off the bucket list.
Every Saturday, I post a 15-20 minute podcast featuring some tracks I’ve been jamming the previous week, as well as some commentary and random musings from yours truly. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
Buraka Som Sistema – We Stay Up All Night (Star Slinger Remix)
Azealia Banks – Liquorice
Django Django – Default
Big K.R.I.T. – Moon and Stars (Clams Casino Remix)
Rihanna – We Found Love (Star Slinger Refix)
This one should be sloppy. Frankly, the Bengals lucked their way into the postseason, and the Texans haven’t looked like a playoff team in a while, thanks to a slew of key injuries. So it’s the battle of the rookie quarterbacks, and someone’s gotta win, so my money’s on the Bengals, if only because Dalton has played more consistently overall than Yates, who, along with his team, lost three straight heading into this game, including one to the abysmal Colts.
Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints
This one’s going to be a shootout for sure. The NFC games are just going to be more exciting, period. Great offenses will battle. But ultimately New Orleans will win, thanks to MVP contender Drew Brees and Detroit’s lack of discipline when things get heated. Expect Stafford to throw more than Brees, but penalties will hurt the Lions overall.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos
The Steelers are banged up bad. Big Ben will struggle. But he won’t struggle as bad as the overrated Tim Tebow, who hasn’t decidedly won against a challenging team all season. And, dare I say, he hasn’t experienced a defense like Pittsburgh. Expect a low-scoring game that Tebow won’t be able to fourth-quarter-miracle his way out of. Pardon the irony, but the Broncos haven’t got a prayer.
Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants
The Falcons’ defense is sharp, and the Giants’ is not. Having said that, New York has the momentum after embarrassing Romo in Jerryville, and they have Eli Manning, who is throwing like a veteran. This will be another red zone game, but ultimately I expect the boys in blue to wrap this one up early in the fourth quarter.
After last year’s introspective foray under his real name, ladies man The-Dream has returned, and he’s up to his usual deviant tricks. No word on whether this new track will be on the upcoming The Love IV: Diary of a Mad Man.
I gotta admit, I wasn’t incredibly impressed overall with Season 1 of Portlandia. But after watching this, I think I’m willing to give it another shot. The absurdity of hipsterdom in all its glory is showcased on the show, but it looks like the writing might be a bit sharper this time around. What I particularly enjoy about the show is the fact that almost every sketch makes me think of someone I know, and Austin in general. This episode features Jeff Goldblum, Eddie Vedder, and Edward James Olmos.
Once every three months I list the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
