Dude, I love “Linger.” Don’t give a fuck.

No words. Have a look at these videos. Pretty sure this has got to be a prank. Surely. Surely? Well, LOL Baltimore either way, I suppose.

UPDATE: So The Daily Swarm is claiming it’s hoax, but they don’t elaborate. It’s hilarious either way, in my book.

UPDATE REDUX: Baltimore City Paper is also calling shenanigans, though they present strong evidence. I didn’t even catch this quote when I watched it, but at one point Coward says “I don’t actually have a job because I’m just a musician so the days kind of blend together.” Yeah dude – self-awareness is a dead giveaway. That’s a good style, dudes.

MP3 :::
Teeth Mountain – Keinsein

We’re about as excited for Growing’s new album PUMPS as we are for the Lost finale, the second coming of Christ, or our tax refunds. Luckily, the good kids at Vice produced a visual feast to tide us over until then, with four video “vignettes” to accompany songs from the new lp. Their trippy, seizure-worthy, archival, stop-motion madness is further proof that Growing “still want to stick their dick in your brain,” according to Bloggins, and I concur. 3D glasses not required. PUMPS is out April 6th.

“Hormone”

“Drone Burger”

“Massive Dropout”

“Short Circuit”

Last Thursday was awesome. Though Tortoise boasts the pedigree and equity of “legendary,” I was actually more pumped to see Disappears. And they were utterly devastating. I always appreciate a band as loud as a Saturn V, and Disappears delivered the goods – disgustingly chunky guitars, tape echo on every mic, neanderthal drumming, reverb that shook Headliners Music Hall to its core – this band is ridiculous.  Disappears is truth.

As Brian Case discusses in our forthcoming interview, much of the set was very new material that may find its way past their Kranky debut Lux, out April 13. Unsure of the title of this one, but Disappears embraces the motorik like a loved one and cultivates decibel shredding more expansive than Manifest Destiny. Believe:

“Black Cross” was in fine form, as well:

Tortoise was also a treat to see live, though I’d be remiss if I didn’t honestly say that I enjoyed Disappears more. This probably had more to do with tertiary factors than the band’s actual performance. Tortoise was as tight as ever, but I felt their live show this time around suffered by not having, say, a visual element. Disappears didn’t need one, as Brian Case is a beast on stage, but the post-rock quintet, outside the double drumming extravaganza and John McEntire switching instruments every five minutes, hid behind their stacks of synths and computers – opting more to noddle in a detached sense, much like a jam band, than to engage the crowd. However, a couple of moments truly stood out, especially when Tortoise reached into their heavy metal bag and brought the motherfucking ruckus, as evidenced below. As an added bonus, you get We Listen For You’s Zach Hart’s mighty dome in the first video:

Overall, I still greatly enjoyed seeing Tortoise up close and personal – a very excellent bill all around. Keep your eyes on Disappears, though. There’s a statistically significant chance that, if our God is a merciful and loving god, this Chicago collective will fucking dominate 2010. Tortoise and Disappears storm Cat’s Cradle in Carborro, NC tonight and DC’s Black Cat tomorrow.

Phantom Family Halo… they’re my guys! They perform at (literally) insane venues with (even morso) insane sets, giving me blog headlines that I couldn’t make up even if I tried. Love these guys!

Invasion is a band from London. If you were wondering when the genres of soul and psych metal shall meet, the time is nigh. These are the most awesome videos you will see ever. Each is packed with dense and constant awesomeness. Skulls, pentagrams, wizards, Hubble Telescope images, robes, fire, demolition derby, sacred geometry, Egyptian pharaohs, general witchcraft, and so much more. Total damage. They are on the MySpaces.

Everything you see and hear is done by Olde English Spelling Bee’s Alice Cohen – beautiful jammage, beautiful animation.

I feel like a real retard posting a video from Pitchfork.tv. I really, really do. But dammit, this is a beautifully shot montage, with cinematography very reminiscent of Julian House and Scott Hansen. Plus, A Sunny Day in Glasgow seems to really bring it live. That’s all.

Serena Maneesh likes to rock
They are a rocking machine
They can really wail a horse-wupping ass off
They can really whip a polar bear’s ass
- Wesley Willis (r.i.p.)

I was reading my buddy Nathaniel’s recent blog entry on a rad fan-made video for the Atlas Sound / Stereolab collab (rhymes lol) “Quick Canal,” featuring lots of retro kitsch stock footage. Broadcast, you need to find the dude who made this video. Anyway, seeing the video reminded me of something Lana discovered not too long ago called The Prelinger Archives. As Regis Philbin used to say in the Mr. Phipps Tater Crisps commercials: “I LOVE ‘EM!”

The Prelinger Archives is a mindblowingly expansive collection of public domain films from pre and post-WWII America – most of which could be categorized within educational videos, infomericals before there were infomericials, instructional videos, and public service announcements. All of which are could be categorized as “relatively campy and amazing.”

Go to the Internet Archive splash page and browse around. You cannot go wrong with any of these ephemeral films of the atomic age. I tend to gravitate toward the Coronet Instructional Films, which provide the fatherly guidance that made our parents better people I suppose, and the Jam Handy Archive, which is just a grab-bag of awesome. The emphatic narration and general mores displayed are, in many ways, so far removed from how the world is today that you can’t help be feel compelled. The Prelinger Archives is one of my absolute favorite offerings of the Internet right now.

Below are some of the Prelinger videos that made it to YouTube. The last video is the classic “Duck and Cover” classroom film that you’re probably already familiar with but may not have actually seen. The videos from the collection itself are too big to embed on this blog, so you’ll really want to go to the IA portal to explore for yourself! Go here, mach schnell!