Swedish Authorities Pull the Plug on The Pirate Bay, Nerds Swiftly Plug It Back In; Swedish Authorities Left with No Other Recourse but to Ogle Beautiful Women and Enjoy Top-Notch State-Sponsored Health Care
By Mike McHugh on 08-26-2009
The planks have been holstered, the wenches dismissed, and the rum, yes, it is gone. It’s official, folks: after nearly six years of sailing the open cyber seas and plundering every shining doubloon of media in sight, The (Swedish) Man has slashed the masts of The Pirate Bay for good. But don’t you all unsheathe your inhalers at once. For all you content-hungry but empty-pocketed individuals left listless by the absence of your precious TPB, be not so nervous, be not so frail , because the opportunity for unspoiled riches abounds at these two-dozen-plus-one other torrent sites that can get you a fat slice of that torrenty goodness, just like Pirate Bay used to make.
But I get why you’re so upset right now. Sure, The Pirate Bay was just one twinkling star in a constellation of other reliable torrent sites, yet you trusted TPB more than the others. The incessant watch-doggery of the commenters kept you safe from viruses, and the bevy of seeders made for quick and easy downloading. Yep, there’s nothing in this world that can replace The Pirate Bay, except, perhaps, an (almost) exact fucking copy of The Pirate Bay . Sure, it may look different, but all your favorites are there. From the high-quality DVD rips of your favorite TV shows to the super-suspect porn that managed to slip onto the servers, TPB is not only alive and well in the hearts of nerds the world over, but also on your very own Internet. Good lord it’s just so precious I can hardly stand it!
In the days before its demise, one loyal Pirate Bayer went to the trouble of compressing the entire catalog of TPB’s hosted content into one convenient 21.3 gigabyte torrent. The file essentially is a backup copy of the more than 800,000 torrents hosted on TPB website. Since many torrents tracked by TPB were not hosted on its servers, the better part of its 2 million torrents couldn’t make it on the backup, but (conjecture alert) one would assume that the most popular and reliable torrents would be hosted on the site itself. Either way, thousands downloaded the torrent over the weekend, including one helpful soul who loaded all the content (before TPB even shut down) onto a clone site that has every file on the backup available to download. It’s even possible (again with the conjecture!) that there are other TPB clone sites ready to launch should this new haven face flak from the powers that be. For closing remarks on this story, I humbly defer to this t-shirt .
World’s Fair Label Group Goes Under
By Mr P on 08-26-2009
World's Fair has ceased operations starting yesterday. Created in 2004, the NY-based group was a full-service international admin company that did everything from press and radio promotions to online marketing and finance services. The group worked with a vast array of artists, indie labels, and distribution companies over the past several years. Its most recent clients included labels Daptone, Bella Union, PIAS, and Rough Trade; artists Secret Machines, Lyrics Born, and British Sea Power; and distributors ADA, Caroline, and The Orchard.
Whether or not you were aware of the actual group, chances are you were exposed to some of these artists/labels through its legwork.
Sub Pop Wants You to Enjoy Some Male Bonding
By Liz Louche on 08-26-2009
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dalston, London three-piece Male Bonding to the Sub Pop roster. “Who?” you may be asking. Why, the Dalston, London three-piece who, prior to their signing with Sub Pop, released a handful of split 7-inches and who -- oh, what the hell. Let's make this a list!
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The Top Four Reasons You Should Be Into Male Bonding
(No, there will be no jokes about buddy movies here or 1980s Chicago sitcom Perfect Strangers or that period of time when everyone said “I love you, man” because of that Budweiser commercial. Nothing of that sort. Just good, old-fashioned REASONS.)
1. They’re a garage rock kind of band, but not in that derivative “oh God not another neo-garage rock band” kind of way.
2. They recorded a track for a Flipper tribute 7-inch to which Lovvers, Ponytail, and PPM Allstars also contributed.
3. Their MySpace headline thingy says “Ride the Dreamcatcher.” I will! Just on your suggestion.
4. They toured in the UK alongside Vivian Girls and have played with the likes of HEALTH, Fucked Up, Magik Markers, Mika Miko, and others.
You’re Either In or You’re Out, and Camera Obscura Try to Stay “In” by Touring This Fall
By Annapocalypse on 08-26-2009
You have to forgive me for that awful headline; my brain has been melted this past week from watching three straight hours of NEW Project Runway episodes. Every time I close my eyes, I hear Heidi Klum say “Auf wiedersehen,” see Tim Gunn dressed in a dapper suit, and cringe at this new contestant’s ridiculous hairstyle.
But before I completely digress, let’s talk about Camera Obscura’s upcoming fall tour: they’re touring. Yup, that’s pretty much all there is to it. Go see them play songs from their latest album, My Maudlin Career (TMT Review), out now on 4AD.
Meanwhile, the next Project Runway episode starts tomorrow. See you on the catwalk.
Dates Obscura:
11.18.09 - New Orleans, LA - Tipitina's
11.19.09 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
11.20.09 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11.21.09 - Norfolk, VA - Attucks Theatre
11.22.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
11.24.09 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Ballroom
11.25.09 - Rochester, NY - The German House
11.26.09 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix
11.27.09 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
11.28.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
11.30.09 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird
12.01.09 - St Louis, MO - Off Broadway
12.02.09 - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Oxford
12.03.09 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
Autolux Decide to Take the Whole “Music Thing” Out on the Road
By Liz Louche on 08-25-2009
Shoegaze-y Los Angeles trio Autolux haven’t released an album since 2005’s critically acclaimed Future Perfect (TMT Review) and haven’t toured nationally for four years. So you’d think this story would be about them putting out a new album and touring behind it, wouldn’t you? WRONG. It’s something different (kinda), something more special. For, at the moment, you see, the band’s next album, Transit Transit, is only (and somewhat cryptically) labeled as being “forthcoming.” The band is touring largely due to Public Demand.
That’s right! After The Flaming Lips selected Autolux to play this September’s All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in New York, the band got so many emails and messages from fans around the United States that they decided to wrap up the summer with their very own, first-ever headlining tour!!! But they’ve been up to a lot more in the years between Future Perfect and now than simply building rabid anticipation. Drummer Carla Azar, for example, recorded with PJ Harvey and John Parish for their latest joint effort, A Woman a Man Walked By. The band also opened for PJ Harvey while she was on tour in Russia -- and then they worked with UNKLE on the album War Stories, created music for an exhibit at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, collaborated with Australian visual artist Kill Pixie on an installation room, and participated in Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich’s From the Basement series of live performances. And, you know, some other stuff, too, like recording that album that’s eventually gonna come out.
Dates:
08.28.09 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival
08.29.09 - Portland, OR - Berbati’s Pan
08.30.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
09.02.09 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
09.03.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
09.04.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
09.05.09 - Detroit, MI - The Magic Stick
09.06.09 - Lexington, KY - Al’s Bar
09.08.09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
09.09.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
09.10.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09.12.09 - Monticello, NY - All Tomorrow’s Parties
09.14.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.15.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
09.16.09 - Pittsburgh, NY - Brillobox
09.17.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09.18.09 - Urbana, IL - Pygmalion Music Festival
09.19.09 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
09.20.09 - Omaha, NB - The Waiting Room
09.21.09 - Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theatre
09.22.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
09.25.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
09.26.09 - San Diego, CA - Soma
09.27.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - The Detroit Bar
