Sarge! Ant Peppers Only, Arts Club Band – “Mondegreen” Officially Added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
By Kid Midnight on Jul 10 2008
Like the Razzies and all those “World’s Best Sports Bloopers” tapes floating around, a new contest has emerged to help us pick the cream of the crop of our favorite mistakes and misinterpretations. A wonderful challenge presented to us, musical aficionados, to submit, list, and celebrate all those times when we fans just can’t get past the unique, “one of its kind” warbling of our favorite pop stars. The impetus for this contest is part of the celebration of my favorite time of year: NEW WORDS DAY! A wonderful time when words we already use and understand are officially added to the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster has decided to include the word “mondegreen” to its illustrious “Field Guide to North American Words” as one of its newest nouns. Mondegreen? What is this new word Mr. Midnight? Well, first coined in 1954 by author Sylvia Wright, it is described as “a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung.” For example: Elton John’s hit tune “Tiny Dancer” is often sung and transformed into a mondegreen when the lyrics “Hold me closer tiny dancer” are misheard and misconstrued as “Hold me closer Tony Danza.” Funny right? Of course it is. We all love factoids and sidebars in articles, and pointing out mistakes is something that we all do quite well.
Interested in letting the world know your favorite mondegreen? Head over to Merriam-Webster's contest page and submit one! My favorite mondegreen is a whole song. I saw a lady on an American Idol contest who interpreted the Mariah Carey sung version of “Without You” which includes the line “I can’t live” into “Ken Lee.” She sings the entirety of the song in homophonic gibberish because of her lack of knowledge in the English language. FUNNY!
WHY? Expands Tour into The Fall, Dates with Mount Eerie
By Mango Starr on Jul 9 2008
What are you doing this fall? Starting a new semester? Moving to Florida? Getting married? Buying your first house? Taking a dump? Well, cancel your plans RIGHT NOW. Seriously, do it. Go ahead. I'll tell you why in a second, but it's very important that you cancel your plans first... Yep, pick up that phone... dial... good, good... Okay, are your plans canceled now? Now, don't just say they're canceled -- are they really canceled? Great, because boy have I got news for you!
WHY? have just announced another U.S. tour! Still supporting their critically acclaimed anticon. release, Alopecia (TMT Review), WHY? are actually still on the road in Europe, supporting, supporting, supporting. Come late August, however, WHY? will be done with all this European ridiculousness (at least until October) and will be back in the U.S., playing dates with Tussle, Tobacco, and Tount Terie.
See? Now, aren't you glad you canceled your plans? Ha, and you were all, like, "No, tell me first, I can always cancel later or plan around the tour." You're pathetic.
% Tussle
* Mount Eerie
# Tobacco
[Photo: Jacob Hand]
Panther Tour 14 Kt God Across Northeast States, Atlantic Ocean
By Andy H3ss on Jul 9 2008
Live in Portland, the Northeast, or Europe and want to catch Panther? Good news: They're supporting 14 Kt God (TMT Review), released back in February via Kill Rock Stars, on a mini-tour of the East Coast before heading across the pond for some European dates.
Dates with Girl Talk and a pool party with Aesop Rock highlight the schedule, but you might as well check them out if they're in your area. I know I would.
Portland, Portland, Portland:
Capitol/EMI Taps into Vinyl Hype Cautiously and Half-Heartedly
By Mr P on Jul 9 2008
In August, Capitol/EMI will be releasing eight "classic titles" on high-quality vinyl in the U.S. Titled "From The Capitol Vaults," the albums set for release include four titles from Radiohead, two from Coldplay, and one each from A Perfect Circle and Steve Miller Band, all out-of-print in the U.S. The albums will be released on 180-gram audiophile vinyl (aside from Amnesiac and Kid A, which will be released on 140-gram 10-inches), with original artwork and packaging.
Now, I'm no marketing expert, but I do know a good campaign involves a solid foundation. Capitol/EMI's strategy seems painfully transparent to me. First of all, by only releasing eight "classic titles," Capitol is sending a cautious signal to the consumers. Sure, Capitol releases new titles on vinyl in the U.S. (the new Coldplay, for example), but they're always very limited. Similarly, this limited-edition campaign doesn't speak to any long-term investment in the format. Chances are that fans have already bought these "classic" albums on CD, which means these vinyl releases are aimed primarily at commodity fetishists, further underscoring EMI's increasing emphasis on its back catalog, not its current artists. The campaign seems more like Best Buy's sales experiment (TMT Review), but at least Best Buy is being explicit about its aims.
"U.S. vinyl sales have increased by more than 80% in the past year alone, and the format is still on the rise," says the press release. Right. Meanwhile, indie labels have been fairly adequately catering to vinyl fans all along.
"From The Capitol Vaults":
- A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, satin stock, diecut white sleeves)
- Coldplay - Parachutes (1 LP, printed sleeve)
- Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (1 LP, printed sleeve)
- Radiohead - OK Computer (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, color labels, printed sleeves)
- Radiohead - Kid A (2 10” 140-gram LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves, color labels)
- Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2 LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves)
- Radiohead - Amnesiac (2 10” 140-gram LPs, gatefold jacket, printed sleeves, color labels)
- Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974-78 (1 LP, printed sleeve, color label)
Ping-Pong Tournament, BBQ Announced At the Same Time As Something Called Gonerfest 5
By Joe B. on Jul 9 2008
Big old garage-punk label Goner Records puts on a fest every year. 2008 is a year. With that in mind, the masterminds behind Goner have gone ahead and announced that, at their request, a bunch of bands are playing Memphis within a very concentrated amount of time.
From September 25-28, bands such as Sic Alps, Psychedelic Horseshit, Eat Skull, The Box Elders, Tyvek (now called TVK because of what I assume was a lawsuit), and Thee Oh Sees will perform amidst such other attractions as DJs, a barbecue (not to be confused with BBQ, who I don’t think is playing) and, yes, a ping-pong tournament. More details, hopefully ping-pong-related, will be revealed as the summer goes on.
For those of you who don’t feel like clicking through, here’s the lineup as it looks now:
Sic Alps, Tearjerkers, Crusaders of Love (France), Dan Melchior, Touch-Me-Nots, Duke & Duchess, Cheap Time, Ooga Boogas (Australia), Psychedelic Horseshit, Box Elders, Earthmen & Strangers, Mouserocket, The Intelligence, TVK, AV Murder, Eat Skull, Barbaras, Wizzard Sleeve, Turpentine Brothers, Static Static, Thee Oh Sees, Black Time (UK), Cola Freaks (Denmark).
Hats off, Goner.
