Kurt Vile, Ted Leo, Patrick Stickles, and Gary The Squirrel urge you to pledge to WFMU’s annual fundraiser TONIGHT

By Liz Louche on Feb 28 2012

Remember all those good ol’ times you used to have with your childhood street gang, just stealin’ crazy space guns and joshin’ around? Boy oh boy were those the days! Too bad you didn’t have a cool, “Neil Young during his Trans era but potentially even more awesome” soundtrack to go along with all those youthful shenanigans! But it doesn’t have to be that way. Now, for a limited time only (Okay, probably not all that limited), if you donate to musician Nic Zwart’s Kickstarter campaign for his fledgling psychedelic/sci fi/adventure/buddy film, you’ll be able to look up at the silver screen with wondering eyes and relive the time that you and your colorfully named friends stole that Dream Gun, but with way more awesome tunes than whatever shit you were listening to at the time.

How is this all possible? Well Zwart, a fellow who has crossed the globe with the likes of Desolation Wilderness, Electric Sunset, and (current project) Drone Ranger, has decided to bring his film ideas to life through the internet magic that is Kickstarter! King Leaves the Kingdom is the name of the film, Kid, and it’s set in one of those mystical near futures where everyone’s in a cool street gang full of camaraderie and kickass gang names. The fellas in this flick go by the names of Theodore, Chachi, Freddy Bread, and Killer Boy, and together they are… The Lovers. They steal a little somethin’ somethin’ called a Dream Gun from a party-throwing gangster named Johnny Tondu and he gets a little mad, but basically he’s a nice guy, so they all go out for froyo at the end. JUST KIDDING! They get in way over their heads. THAT’S what happens. In the words of Zwart’s Kickstarter campaign, “At it’s core, the movie is about friendship, love, and the ability to control your destiny when you’re part of a group (like a street gang) which depends on you.”

So true! The project is just over a third of the way to its goal, and incentives include all kinds of nice things like personal messages, soundtrack downloads (clips are available on the Kickstarter and they sound pretty bomb), HD film downloads, IMDB credits, and… the chance to participate as an extra in a pool party scene full of Fun, Drinking, and Serious Acting.* Check out the page here. Always nice to see cool musicians experimenting with different art forms.

* I am good at all these things AND I live in LA. Call me.

• Nic Zwart: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/niczwart/king-leaves-the-kingdom

By Caroline Rayner on Feb 28 2012

I’m just going to be honest: house isn’t really my cup of tea. I don’t know what the hell “neat house” sounds like, and my imagination’s just not up for clever conjectures today. Still, I’ve got to keep you rockers informed. According to our pals over at FACT, Editions Mego has just launched a sub-label called Sensate Focus, which will apparently concentrate on this “neat house” nonsense.

The imprint will join the current Editions Mego sub-label gang, which includes Spectrum Spools (curated by Emeralds’ John Elliott), Ideologic Organ (curated by sunn 0)))’s Stephen O’Malley), and Old News (“curated” by Jim O’Rourke). The first 12-inch on the new imprint is called Sensate Focus 10, which will see an April 17 release. You’re wondering what artist is releasing Sensate Focus 10? Hell if I know. No one knows. However, FACT does say that it sounds a bit Joy Orbison-ish and a bit Deadboy-ish. Order a copy and write down some guesses (because you get a free pencil with every order, and it really doesn’t get much cooler than that).

Sensate Focus 10 tracklist:

A. X
B. Y

• Editions Mego: http://editionsmego.com
• Sensate Focus: http://editionsmego.com/sensate-focus