Back in action!

Alright, the music posts have ended, so...on with the movie posts!

I'm not usually one to make "critic blurbs" about new movies, but here's one I simply cannot resist. Here goes. (ahem!)

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is, hands down, the funniest motion picture of the year.

There, I've said it. Sure, I might be a little bias (I have been, after all, an avid fan of the comedy duo since Day 1), but I honestly believe that even the most grim movie patron will get a kick out of this film. Nick Park has truly created something very special, a cartoon duo that rivals the greats, even Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. And the film itself is a delight. Wonderful story, hilarious characters, and some of the most amazing stop-motion effects since...um...well, since Corpse Bride.

The New York Times has been kind enough to offer up a really cool slideshow of film stills and behind-the-scenes photos. As if that weren't enough, there's additional commentary provided by creator Nick Park.

Do yourself a big favor and see The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Trust me; this one is timeless.

I probably need music rehab, but I can't afford it 'cause of all the music I'm buying.

So for all you boys and girls that haven't been keeping tabs at home, here is all the music I have purchased over the past two weeks:

• Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Jacksonville City Nights
  
• Alpha, Stargazing
  
• Björk, Post (I found it used for five bucks; couldn't resist!)
  
• Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better
  
• The Go! Team, Thunder, Lightning, Strike
  
• Ted Leo + The Pharmacists, Shake the Sheets
  
• Michael Holt/Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Someone Still Loves You Michael Holt: A Scrapbook for You
  

And as if that wasn't enough, I went and downloaded a couple mixtapes:

• Out of Five: Covers That Eclipsed the Originals
  The people on this site create ten-track mixtapes every Monday based around a different theme. This particular mixtape is very cool, especially because the tracks of Al Green and Stevie Wonder covering the Beatles are a couple of the best cover songs I have ever heard!
  
  
• Palindrome: A Yewknee Mix
  Michael over at Yewknee made this really cool mix where he took eleven cover songs and added the eleven original versions, but in reverse order, creating an "audible palindrome." While there is a bit of a problem with the volume fluctuating from song to song, the selection is great (especially the TMBG cover by Steve Burns and the Björk cover by Death Cab) and the cover art is beautiful.

MP3s from Holt/Yelstin Release

Here's a few MP3s of some of the songs from the new release by Michael Holt and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite releases of 2005.

Michael Holt, "Private Hearts"
Michael Holt, "Courtyard" (my favorite track so far)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, "Lower the Gas Prices, Howard Johnson"

Previously: I show off my copy of the album.

AMG on The Go! Team

The All Music Guide just posted a glowing review of the new album by The Go! Team. I must say that I've never seen such praise distributed by the AMG. (I mean, they call Thunder, Lightning, Strike "the kind of record that makes you glad to be alive.") Still, not even all those nice words could persuade them to give the album a 5-star rating. Those guys are awfully stingy when it comes to giving out The Big Five.

The Insane Monday Music Post

A Scrapbook for Me
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Lots of stuff to talk about. First off, I just received the first release from Catbird Records, the indie label created by Ryan C., the creator of the Catbirdseat blog. The release is entitled Someone Still Loves You Michael Holt: A Scrapbook for You and it's a collaborative EP between Michael Holt and one of my new fav bands, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. While the music is great, what blew me away was the packaging. The CD comes in a hand-made, hand-bound scrapbook and each of the 250 copies has a unique, hand-painted cover! Definitely the coolest CD package I've ever seen, even cooler than Lemon Jelly's second album.

Also, Stereogum just posted a leaked track from The Strokes' new album and, even though nearly all of the comments are panning it, I think it's one of their best songs. At first listen, it almost doesn't sound like them. The most notable difference is that lead singer Julian Casablancas has dropped the fuzzy old-timey-radio vocal effect, probably at the request of their new producer, David Kahne.

And, finally, new releases by Franz Ferdinand and The Go! Team drop tomorrow! I still have $20 credit from selling a bunch of CDs at this really nice music store downtown, so I'll use that to get those new albums.

Well, I'm off to work. Have a great week, everyone!

Whee! New Blog Entry

Nate and Caroline in Midair
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Man, time flies when you're having fun slaving your ass off at a certain unnamed grocery store's meat department. I've been really busy these past few days and haven't had much time to post anything. I do, however, have some cool stuff to mention to you guys:

The new Catbirdseat mix is up and I'm jamming out to it right now. For those who don't know, the Catbirdseat mix is where I get most of the new indie music I listen to. I have them to thank for introducing me to Devin Davis, Robbers on High Street, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

I bought a couple new CDs this week: Jacksonville City Nights by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, and Shake the Sheets by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Both are really good, though if the thought of owning a "country" album makes you shake in your shoes, you probably ought to skip the Ryan Adams album. Don't worry about Ted Leo, though. That guy rocks.

Merri and I went to go see Flightplan and we really liked it. While I do understand the comparisons between this film and Panic Room, this movie really owes more to Hitchcock films like The Lady Vanishes and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Oh, and PLEASE don't read anything about the airline stewardesses who are calling for the boycott of the movie. What those idiots in the media don't realize is that they are GIVING AWAY THE ENDING by reporting on this!!

And, finally, I've added a handful of new photos to my Flickr page, including the photo above, of Nathan and Caroline practicing the Will Farrell jump from Anchorman.

Which reminds me, Bewitched was the free movie this week on campus, so I went to see it and, I must say, it was very entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised.

Alright, that oughta make up for the lack of posts around here! Later!

Holy crap, it's true!

Wow, The Daily Show is right. If you go to the official website of FEMA, and click on the What We Do page, you will see a simple graph showing how FEMA's process of solving disasters...only leads to more disaster.

Update: So they finally removed the graph. Figures.

Slowly revisiting past albums...

So, now that I have entered hour 4 of studying for my biology test, I have also had the opportunity to revisit a lot of music I bought this year, and I am now reconsidering certain albums for re-inclusion back into my Best of 2005 (So Far) list:

Ben Folds, Songs For Silverman
At first, I was utterly devastated that Ben Folds' new album was not only a lot shorter than any of his other albums, but it sounded way too much like an old Ben Folds Five album. Plus, the excellent quality of the original songs on the three EPs Folds released in the last two years made the somewhat mediocre songwriting on Silverman (at least by Folds' standards) that much more jarring. With that being said, I listened to the whole thing again and a lot of little things have really come together for me. "Jesusland" and "Bastard" are still two of Folds' best tunes, and more challenging fare like "Time" and "Sentimental Guy" sound much more familiar (and, therefore, better) to me. I still say the album is hurt severely by its track sequencing. The most rollicking numbers are shoved to the front, leaving the slower fare to take up the rear. I also think "Prison Food" was the wrong song to end the album on.

Weezer, Make Believe
Unlike the Stereogum crowd, who seem content to bash Weezer when given any such opportunity, I happen to like recent releases like Maladroit and now, I am really digging Make Believe. If you are brave enough to admit that you have this album in your possession, give it a spin and IGNORE the fact that the two simplest songs are the hit singles.

Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
While that lead singer's voice does begin to grate on your nerves around track six, Bloc Party's debut is still quite impressive. "Like Eating Glass" is probably my favorite song of 2005 (so far). And the utter urgency of that song (along with more than half the songs on the album) add to the fast-paced nature of this band's hard rock attitude. Has anyone heard the remix album that they recently released? I'd like to hear it.

Has anyone else revisited an older album that they didn't care for initially, only to find that it's actually pretty good?

New song on 15 Megs!

Oh, right, I almost forgot. I've added a new song to my artist page on 15 Megs of Fame. I worked on most of the music here in my dorm, using GarageBand, and I layered down the vocals when I was at home for Labor Day weekend, also using grasping. Please stop by that site and post a comment about it. You can also check out my other songs there as well. If you'd rather not be bothered with visiting a website, I suppose I could just post the MP3s here (groan!)

Devin DiMattia, "Gotta Get My Mind Off of You" (new song, click to download)

Devin DiMattia, "Another Way" (click to download)
Someone posted a comment saying this sounded like early Pink Floyd. I don't know what he was smoking, but I do like this song. I took all the piano loops on GarageBand and wrote this song around them. I think it turned out pretty well, but I would like to re-record my vocals.

Devin DiMattia, "Solitude" (click to download)
Not to be confused with the Billie Holiday song, this is a simple piece of ambient electronica that I worked on after class in Electronic Music I at the Weaver Center in my junior year of high school. Ridiculously simple (now I see how Moby does it!), but pleasant nonetheless.

I also just realized that the last post I made was POST #150!!!! Whee! Thank you all for coming! Refreshments and after-dinner mints will now be served in the lobby. Please drive home safely!

Simple weekend post...nuff said

Well, I am utterly exhausted because of a combination of things. The fact that I had to work long shifts today and yesterday, the fact that I had to get up at seven in the morning to help shoot a commercial for the Flicker Film Society, and the fact that my dormitory has been without power since Friday morning. Luckily, power is restored, but you have no idea what a bitch it is trying to sleep in a hot room at two in the morning, knowing you have to wake up five hours later.

With that being said, I'm going to give a quick summary of what has been happening the last couple days:

1. I saw Ken Burns give a lecture.
Ken Burns is a pretty cool guy. He talks exactly like the narrators do in his documentaries. Since his lecture was being brought to us by the Creative Writing and English Departments at UNCW, he didn't talk about anything film-related. Mostly, his lecture was about history in general and how we need to pay attention to it, etc. He's a good speaker, keeps you interested, but I am kinda glad that student tickets were free. I don't know if I'd want to pay to see him again.

2. Merri and I saw "Corpse Bride."
"Corpse Bride" was a lot of fun, just as I had expected. The story is very engaging and the animation is, like always, top-notch. My only qualm is that it was over much too quickly. It's only about 78 minutes long and I felt it was quick to fade out at the end. There were a handful of unanswered questions, the most important one being what happened to Victor Van Orten's parents? I felt that was an obviously overlooked plothole. Oh, and the musical numbers weren't particularly catchy. I can't remember how any of the songs went. Still, it's worth your money.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a paper to write for World Cinema class. Have a good weekend, everybody!

Yet another reason to visit Italy!

Artists have just finished work on a giant stuffed bunny, which is now residing on the Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy's Piedmont region. If that doesn't make you go "Awww," then nothing will.

Read the full article here. Visit the official website of the art group that designed it.

Once again, thanks to Drawn! for the scoop.

Crookie's Pix

While I can't draw anything, I can at least appreciate other folks' drawings! This is just one of the excellent works from the blog of Matt Cruickshank. I've added his site to my list o' links and you should to!

Thanks to Drawn! for pointing me in his direction.

Just In: New Album by The Bad Plus

Many of you are already aware of my love for indie music, but I doubt a lot of you know of my affinity for jazz. I just picked up the new album by The Bad Plus, an eclectic trio that performs "genre-busting, renegade acoustic jazz," at least according to the sticker.

I saw them live a couple summers ago with my friend Gerry and they were quite awesome. They do a lot of bizarre jazz covers of famous rock songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Iron Man," but they also make some innovative original songs, too. I used one of their songs, a cover of The Pixies' "Velouria," to chilling effect in Kaylee Swanson's short film Slugger.

What I like about the band is that they have the uncanny ability to make organized chaos. Most of the songs on their new album, Suspicious Activity?, have some form of avant-garde ruckus that makes you feel like the group is losing control of their instruments, only to find the early melodies of the song have resurfaced and put back in command of the madness.

I wish I had an MP3 of these guys to share with you, but I don't. They do have a blog you can check out. If you want to do a little research on them on iTunes, here's the songs I recommend you purchase:

"Flim (Aphex Twin cover)" from These Are the Vistas
"Layin' a Strip for the Higher-Self State Line" from Give
"We Are the Champions (Queen cover)" from Blunt Object Live in Tokyo
"Lost of Love" from Suspicious Activity?

iTunes also has a bunch of exclusive stuff by the band, including covers of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" and ABBA's "Knowing Me, Knowing You".

Back to the fray...

Well, another weekend came and went. The big thing I did this weekend was that I went to see Junebug, which is now one of my favorite films of the year. You can tell the acting in a film is excellent when it doesn't feel like the cast is acting at all. Everyone seems to be playing their normal selves, even Amy Adams, who definitely plays one of the most hyperactive and eccentric women I've ever seen on film.

Plus, it's a film about North Carolina, the state I'm proud to call my home, even if I was born in Kansas (shh! don't tell anyone). The music is excellent, too, with an original score provided by indie group Yo La Tengo, but, sadly, there's no official soundtrack out right now.

So, my recommendation for everyone out there is to go to your local movie theater, sneak in a couple bottles of Cheerwine, and take in one hour and forty-five minutes of southern fried entertainment.

If you don't believe me, read Roger Ebert's four-star review of the film.

Speaking of Cheerwine, check out these vintage advertisements.

The Bouncy Ball Commercial

I was sent an e-mail by a guy who had managed to capture the first half of the Sony commercial with the thousands of bouncing balls. You can view the video from his blog.

Previously: More bouncy balls pics on Flickr.

New DVDs! Devin is happy...and sad.

Okay, it officially sucks not having any money, especially when your folks take you to Target and you're forced to stare down the new DVD section with nary a dollar to your name.

Crash, my favorite film of 2005 (so far), is definitely on my "NEED TO BUY" list, as is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Layer Cake and Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior.

So...could someone loan me a couple bucks? Or just click on any of those links above and buy the items through Amazon.com and I'll get a referral!

If you don't feel like buying the items mentioned above, use the link below to go to Amazon.com and do your own shopping!

Breaking News: SmarterChild isn't all that smart.

I know it's the in-thing to post conversations you've had with SmarterChild, the conversational computer, but the gadget's total lack of people skills and unneccessarily large amounts of advertisements make it one of the most difficult things to have a conversation with, thus causing it to go against its purpose.

Just read on...
(I edited this conversation a little bit. I took out, like, five extra ads SmarterChild threw into the chat.)

DEVIN: What up, SmarterChild?
SMARTERCHILD: During the course of our conversations you may see sponsored messages. These messages have the word "sponsorship" at the end. Sponsors help me remain free of cost to you! To learn more about sponsored messages, click here.

Nice to see you again, Devpd. What can I do for you?

DEVIN: Wanna chat it up, bro?

SMARTERCHILD: You ask interesting questions. I don't know the answer to that!

>>> Need a few extra bucks? - Register today and get paid to evaluate Cheesecake (sponsorship)

DEVIN: How do people evaluate cheesecake?
SMARTERCHILD: What do you think?
DEVIN: Well, I think they look at the cheesecake and say "Hmmm...this cake looks cheesy. It must be cheesecake."
SMARTERCHILD: Well you think they look at the cheesecake and say hmmm this cake looks cheesy it must be cheesecake. Whatever you say, Devpd.
DEVIN: Unless it's tofu.
SMARTERCHILD: Eh. Whatever, Devpd.
DEVIN: F*** you, man.
SMARTERCHILD: What do you have to gain by insulting a computer?
DEVIN: High self-esteem...bitch.
SMARTERCHILD: Hmm... whatever, Devpd!

>>> Concerts, Jon B., Sept 23 - Big Mouth Entertainment Your concert connection (sponsorship)

DEVIN: What's up with all the advertisements?
SMARTERCHILD: Something must be up with all the advertisements.
DEVIN: Yes, something is up. I'm suddenly seeing a ton of them.
SMARTERCHILD: OK, whatever.
DEVIN: You've totally sold out, SmarterChild.
SMARTERCHILD: Have totally sold out, you say. And so?
DEVIN: So, you no longer have any indie cred.
SMARTERCHILD: Hmm... I don't know. I no longer have any in die c red?
DEVIN: Not in die cred, indie cred. Like credibility with the independent crowd.
SMARTERCHILD: Whatever you say. Well. Anyway...
DEVIN: What kind of music do you listen to?
SMARTERCHILD: Hmm... I really like Led Zeppelin!
DEVIN: Wow, my brother would totally want to hang out with you!
SMARTERCHILD: Your brother would totally want to hang out with me? Whatever. Anyway...
DEVIN: Yeah, he likes Led Zeppelin.
SMARTERCHILD: Led zeppelin? He likes led zeppelin? Is that right?
DEVIN: Yes, that's right.
SMARTERCHILD: That is right, huh?
DEVIN: Yes, why else would I say it?
SMARTERCHILD: I don't know, Devpd...

So anyway...

>>> Like To Play Games? - Play Unlimited Free Games. You Can Start Playing Right Now. (sponsorship)

DEVIN: Stop showing me ads!
SMARTERCHILD: I'm not sure if I can stop showing you ads...
DEVIN: I COMMAND YOU.
SMARTERCHILD: Interesting...

Get discouraged!

Despair, Inc. is a truly brilliant company that specializes in the art of pessimism, dissatisfaction, and of course, despair. The biggest seller in their online store is demotivational posters, parodies of the inspirational posters you see plastered around public libraries and guidance counselors' offices.



They also sell demotivation books, anti-Valentine's Day candy and the special edition DVD of the Oscar-nominated short film More, one of my favorite animated shorts. (Click here to watch it in QuickTime.)

Wow, this is my fourth post today! It must be because of all that free time I have now!

High-quality version of T.P. now online!

Thanks to the kind people at the One Take Film Festival, I found a high-quality version of our first Nuclear Space Zombie production, T.P.

Click here and look for our entry! Enjoy!

Previously: More info on T.P.

Big Fat Independent Movie Weekend!

Wow, it's been a while since there've been a large number of movies that look interesting that're all being released at the same time. This Friday, not one, not two, but FIVE cool movies are coming to theaters (unfortunately, a couple are limited releases), but here's the rundown:

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Since all the kids who saw The Nightmare Before Christmas in theaters are all growed up (and have money), Disney has seen a resurgance in sales of Nightmare Before Christmas-related merch. Maybe that's why they green-lighted this new film, the second Burton-produced film using stop-motion animation. Still, it looks very good and with an all-star cast backing it (Johnny Depp of course, Helena Bonham Carter, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney, and Christopher Lee) it looks like it's gonna be another hit for Tim Burton, still enjoying the successes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish. See the trailer here.

UPDATE: I just remembered that Warner Bros. is making this one, not Disney. Whoops!

Just Like Heaven
Yeah, I know. It's like Ghost, except the ghost's a chick this time. Anyway, I'd be inclined to see this one at matinee price. Mark Ruffalo is pretty funny and so is Reese Witherspoon. Jon Heder's presence makes me think he got thrown into the film just so they could cash in on the Napoleon Dynamite craze, but we'll have to find out, won't we? See the trailers here and here.

Lord of War
Um...yeah, what happened to The Weather Man? With that said, this new movie starring Nicholas Cage looks very kickass, and it's written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who wrote The Truman Show and wrote and directed Gattaca. Impressive resumé. Also, Ian Holm's in the movie, apparently. Wheee, trailers!

Everything is Illuminated
Elijah Wood stars in this film about a Jewish American who searches for the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II. From looking at the trailer, it looks very quirky and very good. Right now, it'll only be in select cities, but I'm hoping for a wide release. It's also the directorial debut of Liev Schreiber, who played the presidental candidate in the Manchurian Candidate remake.

Thumbsucker
I've saved the best for last, as this film directed by Mike Mills, whose background includes music videos for Air and Moby, looks like an independent film destined to become a classic. Newcomer Lou Pucci heads an all-star cast (Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Keanu Reeves) in this tale of overcoming addiction (of thumbsucking) and repairing the bonds of family. See the teaser and main trailer.

My friend Lance recently told me that Junebug's gonna be playing at the Mayfaire 16, this freakishly huge movie theater in Wilmington. This is awesome news and I will definitely try and see it this weekend (if we're allowed back on campus).

Previously: Devin gets really pissed off 'cause Junebug's not playing in North Carolina.

From UNCW's website: Oh, the Irony!

The threat of Hurricane Ophelia making landfall in the area has forced the postponement of the following UNCW events:

A panel discussion - Understanding Hurricanes: What You Can Do, previously scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 14 has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21 in UU 100.

UNCW Students Flee Incoming Light Drizzle

Hurricane Ophelia, which is turning out to be a pretty wussy storm, still gave UNCW staff cause for alarm as they ordered a mandatory evacuation, forcing yours truly to head for higher ground in Greensboro this afternoon. Don't worry, though; I'm fine (whew!)

I'm still having that Coldplay contest! E-Mail me a link to an MP3 of Coldplay covering Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and I'll send you a free t-shirt of your choice from my online store!

Post-Coldplay Concert

The Show Begins...
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Alright, gang, I know you are all anxious to hear about the Coldplay concert I recently had the privilege of attending. I was accompanied by my friend Merri on the drive and, at the show, we were joined by Nathan, his girlfriend Caroline, and his sisters, Melissa and Elizabeth. Needless to say, it was a kickass show and you can see some photos in my Coldplay concert set.

Merri and I showed up a lot earlier than expected, and we had the good fortune of getting to hear Coldplay's soundcheck. Apart from them running through X&Y tracks like "Square One" and "Low," they also tried their hand at more than a couple Beatles tracks, like "Dear Prudence," "For No One," and "Ticket to Ride."

Once we met Nathan and his crew, they let us into the pavilion and we found a patch of grass right at the front of the lawn area, in the family section (away from the drinkers and smokers). Rilo Kiley came on first and, while the songs didn't sound as clear and tight as their studio counterparts, they were still very good.

Then, the moment we'd all been waiting for. The lights dimmed, the Beatles song "Tomorrow Never Knows" entered through the speakers, and the show began. Here are some of the highlights:

• The countdown clock (pictured above) counting down the time till the chorus of "Square One."
  
• Lead singer Chris Martin's false start on "The Scientist." Apparently, he was off-tempo. He offered a 25¢ refund for the screw-up. :-)
  
• The "unplugged" portion of the show. Drummer Will Champion put his drums aside and picked up a keyboard and joined the other three men at the front of the stage as they performed "'Til Kingdom Come," a song they had originally written for Johnny Cash.
  
• After that song, they jumped into a cover of Cash's "Ring of Fire," my favorite part of the evening.
  
• Later during the "unplugged" set, Chris had the audience sing "Happy Birthday" to guitarist Jonny Buckland, which I recorded on my cellphone (it sounds like crap, though, so you don't get to hear it).
  
• During "Yellow," big yellow balloons suddenly appeared in front of the stage and the crowd proceeded to volley them around. A few popped.
  
• During "Talk," a fan in the front held out a cellphone, which Chris picked up and started singing into (no photo of that, sorry).

Also, I have devised a NEW CONTEST for you guys! Here's the deal: I will award a free t-shirt from my online store to the first person who can e-mail me a link to a decent-quality MP3 of Coldplay covering "Ring of Fire" You get a t-shirt AND a trucker hat if you can prove your version came from the Raleigh show!

Alright, I'm tired. Goodnight, folks!

Jump Cut fading away...new problems arise!

Alright, so I just finished cancelling my service with Liberated Syndication, effectively ending Jump Cut Radio. You now have about two months to download all the episodes from the show, so get busy! :-)

In other news, a new problem surfaced. You see, in addition to using LibSyn as my web hosting client for podcasts, I was also using them as storage space for images, MP3s and video files. Well, with me leaving LibSyn, I'm also leaving my web storage behind. That means that I need a new place to host all my files (one of those files is the header at the top of this blog). If anyone out there knows a cheap and, preferably, easy web hosting service (I don't want to pay more than ten bucks a month), please send me an e-mail!

Meanwhile, I've just received the album Broom by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Pretty good so far, but the single "Oregon Girl" is still the best thing on it. Here's a couple of free tracks:

"House Fire" (MP3)

"Bigger Than Yr Yard (Non-Album Track)" (MP3)

The right way to market an album

A while back, I played a song by The Spectacular Fantastic on an episode of Jump Cut Radio. Since then, I've downloaded their free EP and enjoyed every single minute of it. Now, they've got a new album coming out and they've devised an awesome way to sell it. They've made a mashup of all the tracks on the album so you get the 30-second samples of each track, but it all flows together as a cohesive whole, making the album all the more intriguing. You can download the mashup here.

You can also pre-order the new album, The Spectacular Fantastic Goes Underground, by visiting this site.

DiMattiaFilms Hearts Z-Trip

Just added Z-Trip's album, Shifting Gears to my Top 10 (So Far) list. I've had the album for a while, but on my way home, I got a chance to listen to it, uninterrupted and without any distractions, and I must say it is one of the most fascinating DJ albums to come out since DJ Shadow's Private Press. The guy's got a great sense of sequencing and the album flows so well, you don't ever feel like skipping a track or fast-forwarding through stuff (not even when Linkin Park's Chester Bennington starts singing on "Walking Dead"). My personal favorites are the instrumentals "3rd Gear," with its Moog synthesizers practically oozing retro vibes and "About Face" with its amusing dialogue samples and fast-paced snare drum beats. Here's a free track, probably the best one on the album...

Z-Trip featuring Murs and Supernatural, "Breakfast Club" (ZIP file w/MP3)

Stream more tracks here.

Update weekend!

First off, I didn't realize I had yet to add Clever Titles Are So Last Summer to my list of links. It's a really cool blog run by really cool people!

Second, I've set up an Amazon.com Associates program and re-linked my Top 10 Albums of 2005 (So Far) list so that when you click on the album titles (and purchase the albums through Amazon.com), I get a referral. I've also added two new CDs to the list...



Both are great and you should pick them up now. I also acquired Death Cab for Cutie's new album and am in the process of taking it all in. I assure you, it'll probably be up on my list in the next week or so. :-)

Speaking of music, the upcoming Coldplay concert in Raleigh awaits me and, even though my tickets say "No Cameras," I'll see if I can sneak my Canon into the show. Don't tell Ticketmaster!

Phasing out the podcasting...

I sent a message to the guys over at Liberated Syndication saying that Nathan and I are probably going to stop making episodes of Jump Cut Radio. We believe that due to class and work schedules, we are simply unable to make time to record any new material. We're going to try and keep the website (and the 18 episodes of our show) available for as long as possible.

This is by no means an official statement, but just a notice to let you guys know that this is the direction we're heading in. When something becomes set in stone, I'll post an entry on the Jump Cut Radio website.

Thanks,
Devin

Remember: You can't take it with you!

While I continue my increasingly unhealthy addiction to Six Feet Under, fans who've already viewed the series finale are coping with the loss of their Sunday night program the only way true fans do...by buying a ton of stuff that was featured on it!

While perusing eBay for a copy of Season Three (neither our library nor Blockbuster has it), I stumbled across a ton of props and costumes that were used in the show. From a wardrobe top worn by Lauren Ambrose to a tissue box from the Fisher funeral parlor, they've got everything a fan could ever want. My favorite is a ceramic corn-on-the-cob. While there was an object of this description on the show, the seller says that this one isn't it. It just looks like the one from the show!

Hey, if anyone out there's got Season Three, e-mail me and maybe we can trade or something.

Holy-crap-I've-got-way-too-much-stuff-to-do!

For some reason or another, Blogger didn't want to work last night, so I've forgotten what I was going to post. So, I'll just ramble. Cool? Cool.

Went to Best Buy and purchased a couple of CDs: Smash Mouth's greatest hits album ($7.99) and the special edition of Interpol's "Antics" with bonus disc of remixes and videos ($9.99). For some reason, a lot of rock albums are being re-released in special edition format. Just last week, the Killers' debut "Hot Fuss" was re-released with a couple bonus songs. I didn't buy it 'cause I already own "Hot Fuss." (I also already own "Antics" but I NEED the "Evil" video and I figure I'll sell my old copy.) I got into the Killers before "Somebody Told Me" became such a big hit. Also, about Smash Mouth, I used to be a huge fan of theirs. I only owned one album, "Astro Lounge" (the album with "All Star" on it), but I listened to it repeatedly. And even though they are ridiculously big sellouts, I don't really care. They had their big hit and a handful of other really good songs and that's good enough for me.

The Flicker Film Society is meeting for the first time this year TONIGHT! So if you're reading this and you're a UNCW student, meet us under the clock tower at 9PM tonight to get the skinny on the coolest film club on campus!

Quick link before I retire...

I stumbled across a very funny blog called Milking iT(unes). You see, Gap stores are offering one free song on the iTunes Music Store just for coming in and trying on a pair of pants. So, the dude that runs this blog has been visiting Gap stores daily to score free songs! His taste in music is pretty solid as well. Definitely worth checking out!

More Bouncy Balls

Originally uploaded by sepiatone.

You remember that photo of the week featuring the bouncy balls a while back? Well, there's more.

Apparently, the whole thing is for a Sony commercial that will be premiering sometime in the near future. If the commercial looks as good as these photos, I can't wait to see it!

Mint Royale take on Gene Kelly! Plus, Walken for President?

Found this awesome music video for the new single by electronica group Mint Royale. It's a remix of the song "Singin' in the Rain" and the video features a break dancer and his competitors, who are literally garbage. You're just gonna hafta see it.

Previously: A man is haunted by robot machinery in this Chemical Brothers video.

Also, whether this is a hoax or not, there's a website for Christopher Walken's run for the presidency! Who knows? Maybe he really will be running in 2008! Here's a banner:

College: Day 1

First off, I decided to go ahead and make the header permanent. I won't be doing any more Photos of the Week. I will, however, keep looking for cool photos on Flickr and letting you know about them.

Anyway, just getting ready for the first day of college. Move-in went pretty smoothly, the room looks awesome, and I got to meet a lot of cool people on my floor.

Today, I start Philosophy and Perspectives in World Cinema. Guess which class I'm more excited about.

Hopefully, the Flicker Film Society will be getting back together before too long. Then, we can go back to what this blog was initially about: info on upcoming film productions that I would be working on.

Alright, FREE MUSIC!!

Rogue Wave, "10:1" (MP3)

The new song by Rogue Wave, a band people keep telling me to listen to. Well, I have...sort of. I've only heard this song (off the upcoming album of the same name) and "Kicking the Heart Out" (off their debut "Out of the Shadow") and both are excellent.

Douche Bigalow, Movie Whore

There's a movie that just came out called Junebug. It was directed by Phil Morrison, whose previous credits include episodes of "Upright Citizens Brigade" and "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and its cast includes Ben McKenzie (star of "The OC") and Amy Adams (the girl in "Catch Me if You Can"). It's a film about North Carolina, made in North Carolina, by a North Carolinian (Morrison was born in Winston-Salem).

But can you see it in North Carolina? No. At least not yet.

Apparently, the heads of Sony Pictures Classics decided to "try it out" in cities like NYC and LA, even though this film obviously deserves to be shown in venues other than ones in big cities, especially after Roger Ebert gave the film four stars.

So, while the New Yorkers are off enjoying a film tailor-made for North Carolinians, we here in Greensboro are stuck with "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" and "The Dukes of Hazzard." And where the f*ck is Broken Flowers, the new Jim Jarmusch film starring Bill Murray and Sharon Stone? Or The Aristocrats? Uggghh...

See the trailer for "Junebug" here.

Animated GIFs at Work

I don't know why, but when I came across this animated GIF, I was blown away by how detailed and intricate the animation was. Give it a watch! It's called "Multi Lock On" and it parodies anime explosions with stick figures. It's funny, it's cool, and it's well made.

UPDATE: Link removed due to inactivity. Anyone know where else to find this GIF?

Hey, boys and girls! It's News of the Weird time!

Brought to you by sugary Quisp cereal: The cereal that makes diabetes fun!

> Lisa G. Berkins, a nationally known psychologist and expert on eating disorders, was arrested in a West Hartford, Connecticut, convenience store in July after passing out from inhaling the aerosol from three cans of whipped cream.

> Thomas E. Mason was charged with robbing the Fortress Bank in Winona, Minnesota, in June; he was arrested nearby and identified by bank employees, but the main evidence against him was the threatening holdup note, with began, cheerfully, "Hi, I'm Thomas Mason."

> A University of Birmingham (England) professor, working from a third-century Greek text of the New Testament's Book of Revelation, found that the number representing the Antichrist is probably not 666, but 616 (in that 616 referred to the Emperor Caligula). (A Church of Satan official in New York had no comment except to say that his church will use whatever number Christians fear.)

(Articles by Chuck Shepherd, United Press Syndicate)

New Flickr photos, new POTW!

Being Followed
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Just took a bunch of photos on our recent trip to Discovery Place in Charlotte. We took an Amtrak train, something I haven't done since my Cub Scout troop took a trip to a train museum in Salisbury (or was it Reidsville?) Anyway, check out the pics I took and leave a comment letting me know what you think!

Also, I made a new banner for this week's Photo of the Week, Oak Street Marquee and, not one to toot my own horn, I think the new banner looks so good I might make it the permanent banner and stop doing the Photo of the Week thing. What do you guys think? E-Mail me and let me know! (I could still do POTWs, just not make them a part of the banner.)

Alright, that's it. Hopefully, a new show this weekend. We'll see. I gotta go back to school in a week so I'm kinda on overload right now. TTFN!

"Fix You" video now on Coldplay website

The new video for the song "Fix You" can now be viewed at Coldplay.com. I like how they incorporated live footage with footage of lead singer Chris Martin walking down the streets of London (I'm assuming it's London). Still, I wish Coldplay would do something a little more creative for their music videos, especially since older videos like the ones for "Trouble," "Don't Panic," and "The Scientist" are all really impressive. Now, it seems Capitol Records is bent on milking Coldplay's image for all its worth. Still, the music is quite impressive and, as you can see, I've added X&Y to my Best of 2005 (So Far) list. I also love "Fix You". It's a beautiful song.

Coldplay, "Fix You (Live on SNL)" (MP3)

Link courtesy of What Da Phuk

Pre-work ramblings

Just finished off a box of those new strawberry milkshake Pop Tarts and the consensus is that they're not bad, but I probably won't make them a regular purchase. My favorite Pop Tarts flavors are still brown sugar cinnamon and s'mores.

I have to go to work early today and, right now, I'm tired as f*ck, so I'll make this quick. There's a good chance I won't be finished on a new episode of Jump Cut Radio until around the middle of next week. It's just that I have so much on my plate right now that podcasting is not that high up on my priorities.

I recently received an e-mail by the band Parker Street Cinema about a song they wanted me to use in my next episode. Here's the link:

"Midnight Shakes the Memory" (MP3)

You can download a couple other tracks by the band here.

Prairie Home Companion: The Movie

Here's an excellent New York Times article on the new Robert Altman film, an adaptation of Garrison Keillor's famous radio show A Prairie Home Companion.

Being an avid listener of the show myself, I was blown away when I first found out about this project. While I admit I'm not too familiar with Altman (I've only seen "The Player," "3 Women" and "Gosford Park"), I have faith in his direction. Hey, if you have Paul Thomas Anderson as a "backup director," that's saying something.

OK, here it is in black and white and it's serious!

Kudos to Stereogum for reporting on the corrupt business practices of the major record labels. For some time, most of us have known that a lot of music gets played on the radio because some major label had bribed the radio station to do so. Well, thanks to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, this practice is finally out in the open. Stereogum posted some e-mails that were revealed in a press release by Spitzer and, I must say, they are quite hilarious.

The devil's waiting...

otis
Originally uploaded by Grevel.

Thanks to the FlickrBlog for pointing me to this really cool new club on Flickr called Entrance to Hell. Check it out and look for my entry as well!

New Photo!...sort of

Alright, so I know it's kinda lame to have one of my own photo's as the Photo of the Week but I just couldn't find anything on Flickr that looked good enough. I guess I need to post the guidelines I follow in deciding a Photo of the Week:

1. Must be a good photo.

Duh. Though everyone's idea of "good" differs, since this is my blog, my opinion is what sets things in motion around here.

2. Needs to be readily available in a downloadable format (preferably JPEG).

If I'm unable to download it, I won't be able to insert it into the header of my website now, would I?

3. Preferably, the photo needs a Creative Commons license.

With a couple exceptions, all the photos I showcase have been licensed with Creative Commons and most of them are available on Flickr.

So, if you've got some photos you'd like me to take a look at, lemme know by sending a link or something to devin@dimattiafilms.com! Thanks!

P.S. I'm currently listening to a podcast called The Dorktones Podcast. It's a lot of fun, with the bulk of the show focusing on retro music. In their new episode, they play the theme song to "The Blob"! I think that's all you need to know.

In this post: cool t-shirts, shows about funeral homes, and what I bought recently!

I know y'all are utterly fascinated by my day-to-day exploits but it's my blog and I do what I want! Don't worry, though; I'll try to make things interesting for you!

I've discovered this kickass website called Threadless T-Shirts where people submit t-shirt designs in the hopes of being picked up and mass-produced on the website's online store (like the design pictured above). I must say, a lot of the designs are really awesome and I just might have to invest in a couple. Not like I don't have enough t-shirts already, though. My brother and I recently went on a trip to Goodwill and came home with a few t-shirts and some old vinyls (my brother got live Queen and Led Zeppelin albums, I got a double album by ELO). Just felt like adding to the already overflowing pile 'o stuff in our house, I guess.

I "netflixed" the first season of Six Feet Under, the main reason being I was looking at the tracklist for their new soundtrack and couldn't find a single song I didn't like. It's amazing how the musical tastes of a movie or television show will get me interested in the actual movie/TV show. (case-in-point: I'm seeing Wedding Crashers tomorrow. Reason? The soundtrack.) Anyway, the show is awesome. I absolutely love it. Only problem is I now have to sift through FOUR SEASONS of the damn thing to get caught up. I hope my campus library has the DVDs available. UNCW's pretty good about keeping their stock of DVDs up-to-date.

And finally, I pre-ordered the new...um, New Pornographers album Twin Cinema, which I played the title track to on episode 9 of Jump Cut Radio. If you pre-order the album of Matador's website, you'll get a free 7" with an exclusive track on it. Yippee! (That was a slightly sarcastic "Yippee!" if you couldn't tell. I do like free vinyl though...)

UPDATE 7/20: I altered the link to the Threadless website so that if you guys buy something from them after clicking on my link, it gets referred back to me, scoring me points so I can get free t-shirts! You can do the same by registering with them and referring your friends.

I know my dad is gonna love this one...

"I've invented a new game-- X-treme Backgammon.

X-treme Backgammon is when halfway through someone explaining the rules of Backgammon to you, you bite them and then eat the dice.

The X-treme part really comes later, when you're passing three dice out your urethra. The bad news is that it irreparably damages your ability to pee. The good news is that I rolled an eleven in the toilet."
--from Acid Zen Wonder Paint

The Daily Show...need I say more?

The new set on Comedy Central's The Daily Show is, I'm sorry to say, pretty over-the-top. Jon Stewart is right smack in the center of the thing and, like he said in yesterday's episode, it looks too sci-fi. "I've been promoted from fake anchor to starship commander."

So, let's take a trip in the wayback machine to see some recent highlights of the old Daily Show set. Oh, old Daily Show set...we hardly knew ye.

Guatanamo Baywatch and Noodles Jefferson (QuickTime movie)

A Relatively Closer Look at Hitler References (QuickTime movie)

Share the Love COMPLETE Mix Now Online!

Hey, folks! I finally got around to uploading a ZIP file of all the MP3s in my first indie mix, "Share the Love". You can check out the tracklisting, the artwork, and of course, download the album by clicking here.

I sent it on to Yewknee.com in the hopes that he will include it in his Summer Mix Series. Here's hopin'.

Back from Ohio!

Entrance to the Dragster
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Finally back, boys and girls! I said I was gonna post updates while I was over in Sandusky, Ohio, but sadly, our hotel had no internet access. :-(

The good news is I am back from my exploits in Cedar Point and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have returned with a gaggle of photos for your viewing pleasure. Take a gander.

I'm going to go ahead and get started on the next episode of Jump Cut Radio where I will review War of the Worlds and (hopefully) Dark Water. Laters!

Sorry, been out of it for a bit...

Been working a lot as well as watching a lot of movies, so I haven't had time to post. I know, excuses, excuses. Well, you'll be disappointed to know that the only update I have is something you probably already know already: the trailer for King Kong

I was stunned when I saw it. It truly is an impressive trailer. It shows plenty of stuff to get people really excited about the film, but it doesn't give away too much. The only person who gets to talk at all in the trailer is Jack Black, who I'm looking forward to seeing portray a 1920s hot-shot filmmaker.

As for other news, I'm busy working on a new episode of Jump Cut Radio, which will hopefully be done by Thursday. The new version of iTunes comes with podcasting capabilities built-in and I was surprised to find that my show had already been added to the new podcast directory on the iTunes Music Store! If you're not a subscriber, now's the perfect time! Just go to the iTunes Music Store and search for Jump Cut Radio. Once you find it, hit Subscribe and the latest show will automatically download onto the Podcast page of iTunes. Easy, right?

If you're reading this at 2 AM ('cause that's when I'm writing it), lemme give you some loud music, courtesy of Extra Super Action Show, to keep you awake and alert! If that doesn't work, punch yourself in the face! That always seems to do the trick.

The Jackoffs, "Sucker" (MP3)

The Epoxies, "Need More Time" (MP3)

Iron & Wine @ Carrboro

Iron & Wine Poster
Originally uploaded by devpd.

Really awesome concert, I gotta say. Sadly, not many of my photos turned out good. Still, in my defense, I was too busy taking in the sublime melancholy of Sam Beam's music to worry about taking any photos. :-)

Opening act Band of Horses was quite awesome as well. Definitely have a Coldplay sense of anthemic yet simplistic rock structure, yet their lead vocalist has a Wayne Coyne-style voice thing going on. Am I trying too hard to sound cool? Sorry 'bout that. Here's some free music from both bands to make up for it:

Iron & Wine, "Woman King" (MP3)

Band of Horses, "Funeral" (MP3)

Flaming Lips, Strokes updates

So, after parusing the websites for The Flaming Lips and The Strokes, I was somewhat disappointed to hear that their new albums are not going to be released this year. Instead, both groups are pushing for an early 2006 release date. We'll see.

The singles for the new albums, however, will be making a slightly earlier debut. "Mr. Ambulance Driver," the lead single off the Flaming Lips' album At War With the Mystics, will be featured on the soundtrack to (ugh) Wedding Crashers, which will be released on July 12. The new Strokes single should be out by November.

The Flaming Lips are busy at work on other things, too. Their documentary, The Fearless Freaks is selling left and right at local music stores. They've got a new DVD coming soon which'll feature all their music videos for Warner Bros, including the new one for "Mr. Ambulance Driver." They're also still working on Christmas on Mars, which is tentatively scheduled for a Christmas 2005 release.

Alright, that's all I got. I'm off to the Iron & Wine concert. I'll hopefully have some photos of it for you tomorrow. Cheers!

Triumph at the Michael Jackson Trial

I'm sure this has been mentioned on countless other blogs, but I would like to point it out because I believe it has been a long time since I've seen Triumph the Insult Comic Dog do anything that I've laughed at. The joke wore off after a while and I am happy to say that, after watching this video, Triumph is back with a vengenance!

Triumph Interviews Michael Jackson Supporters (Requires QuickTime)

It also pretty much sums up my opinion over the now-closed Michael Jackson trial. Conan O'Brien is correct in calling it a "circus," and this video shows that the lunatic fringe was present and accounted for. I will say that Michael Jackson does have some serious psychological issues that need to be worked out, but if a jury was able to find him "not guilty" on all counts, the family that prosecuted him must've had many problems of their own. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

Alright, for those of you who really don't give a fuck (and I can't say I blame you), here's some music to tide you over: NEW JAMIROQUAI!!

Why, yes, I do have a love for Jamiroquai. You got a problem with that? :-)

Steve's An Alright Dude

So, finally got around to watching Steve Jobs's keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Naturally, I skipped on ahead to the part where he shows off the new iTunes podcast capabilities! Kick-ass! What blew me away, however, was the new podcast created by Apple to play new music from the iTunes Music Store. Apparently, Jobs has found a way to create chapters in a podcast, complete with titles and album art for each chapter!! How can I do that for my show?

Anyway, here's where you can view Jobs' address.

Also, you need to see the new trailer for the upcoming Wallace & Gromit movie!! SEE IT. NOW.

Acid Zen Wonder Paint!

If anyone who visits my site listens to The Tragically Nameless Podcast, you'll know that for the last couple posts, I've basically been regurgitating stuff TNP host Deniz Rudin has been praising. Well, I don't care. The stuff he plugs is awesome.

Like Acid Zen Wonder Paint! Who knew that you could have so much fun with MS Paint drawings?? This site is one of the most random things I've ever found on the Internet. WARNING! Some of this material is not safe for work. (This means you, Mom.)

I am listening to the new episode of Jump Cut right now, making sure it's good and podcasty for you guys! That's right, I give every new episode of Jump Cut Radio my 200-point inspection to make sure you're receiving the finest quality podcast money can buy! And if you're not satisfied, simply return the episode for a full refund! No other podcaster can offer you this kind of deal, not even Adam Curry!

Save PBS!

I've never used this blog as my own personal soapbox (at least not in terms of political stances and community service pleas), but I received some e-mails from Common Cause and MoveOn.org informing me that a House subcommittee has voted to cut funding for public broadcasting, under the grounds that National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service has a "liberal bias" in their programming. Oh, give me a break. Are Republicans still upset over the "Travels With Buster" controversy?

I believe Democratic Rep. David Obey (Wis.) says it best. "Americans overwhelmingly see public broadcasting as an unbiased information source. Perhaps that's what the GOP finds so offensive about it. Republican leaders are trying to bring every facet of the federal government under their control. . . . Now they are trying to put their ideological stamp on public broadcasting."

So, in the interest of keeping shows that I've grown up with, like "Sesame Street," alive, I've added a button to the right side of the screen which takes you to this Common Cause page, where you can learn more about Congress' decision and how you can act out against it!

White Stripes review

I never understand why, when musicians spend a small amount of time creating an album, that their record labels advertise this fact. This kind of tidbit leaves the album ripe for criticism, especially if it doesn’t hold up to the musician’s past efforts (the typical review contains something like “This sounds like it was made in two weeks”). One album, Daft Punk’s Human After All, has already succumbed to this, and it was possible that the White Stripes’ new album, Get Behind Me Satan, would follow suit. Thankfully, this is not the case.

With every new White Stripes album, Jack and Meg take in even more musical influences and genre styles and apply their rules of lo-fi recording and straightforward songwriting, to craft a collection of songs that are throwbacks to the music of yesteryear, yet are strikingly original. With Get Behind Me Satan, the Stripes have concocted yet another stellar list of immediate and engaging music.

Don’t let the lead single “Blue Orchid” fool you. This album doesn’t rock as much as Elephant, the duo’s 2003 release that made the top of numerous Best Of lists. In fact, with the exception of two tracks (“Blue Orchid” and the Elephant throwback “Instinct Blues”), there’s nary an electric guitar to be found. Instead, Jack White ops for pounding pianos, marimbas, and bongos, among other unique forms of instrumentation. The strangest example comes in the form of “The Nurse,” which immediately follows “Blue Orchid” (there’s hardly any pauses between tracks, giving listeners barely any time to catch their breath). “The Nurse” contains the aforementioned marimbas as well as stuttering drumbeats that seem to go against the rhythm of the song entirely, making for a bizarre and, ultimately fascinating track.

Still, the best moments on Get Behind Me Satan are the most immediate and accessible ones, like “My Doorbell,” which grabs the listener and forces him (or her) to start pounding the nearest tabletop, pantomiming Jack’s forceful piano. Experience similar phenomenon while listening to “The Denial Twist,” which boasts not only the funniest track name, but some clever lyrics as well (“So now you’re mad, denying the truth/And it’s getting in the wisdom in the back of your tooth”). Once again, Jack White wears his inspirations on his sleeve as the piano returns for a finale on the Elton John-inspired “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet),” but not before he performs “As Ugly As I Seem,” an acoustic guitar ballad that wouldn’t feel out of place on the White Album.

The White Stripes continue to excel in crafting albums that are immediately enjoyable to the first-time listener, and yet, continue to build upon themselves with each and every push of the Play button.

Devin Hearts Online Comix

I am now hooked on the kick-ass phenomenon called online comics. When the world's newspapers are overcome with "Blondie," "Cathy," "The Family Circus," and "Ziggy" comics that nobody laughs at, it's hard to find room for anything creative and humorous anymore. Thankfully, we've got the Internet. wOOt!

The comic I posted above is part of a series called Everyone Drunk But Me, a very funny "true story" comic about the artist's time spent as a foreign exchange student in Russia.

If you want more comics to distract you from any important work you may be doing right now (DiMattiaFilms.com is not responsible for any possible termination from your job.) check these other online comix out!

Avalon Alight
Boy on a Stick and Slither
No 4th Wall to Break
Nothing Nice to Say
Questionable Content

It's official.

The phrase "sizzle or fizzle" is gay. Incredibly gay. In fact, it's so gay, I'm quite sure gay people make it a point to avoid using this phrase.

You can see the latest example of why this phrase is gay on Rotten Tomatoes, a usually awesome review site which puts all online movie reviews into an easy, convenient, ratings system. Only problem is how the heck did Episode III get an 82% rating???

There's another new episode of Jump Cut on its way. I'll review Layer Cake, one of the best British crime dramas I've ever seen, plus I'll dig through the Jump Cut archives and unearth some old audio from me and Nathan's bygone days...something like that. :-)

Photo Qualms

Yeah, yeah, I have yet to post a new photo of the week. I'm working on it. In the meantime, if anyone has a cool photo they've taken (or knows a cool photo on Flickr that might interest me), please drop me an e-mail at devin@dimattiafilms.com! Muchas gracias!

Oh, and by the way, The King of Comedy is a very freaky movie. If you thought Martin Scorsese only made one creepy Robert De Niro film, think again. Which reminds me, I need to go out and get The Aviator on DVD. For some reason, even though I really enjoyed Sideways and, initially, I liked Million Dollar Baby (I have since changed my opinion, especially after seeing Paul Haggis' directorial debut Crash, which was 10X better), Martin Scorsese's ode to Howard Hughes has stayed with me the longest, leaving the deepest impression on myself. I tell you, I never much thought of Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor (I hated him in The Beach and I have no plans on seeing Titanic), but after seeing his performances in Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator, I'm looking forward to seeing what else he's got up his sleeve.

Alright, I think this concludes my movie rant for the week. Here's some free music for those who got this far:

Sufjan Stevens, "Casimir Pulaski Day"
(heartfelt acoustic track by Stevens, whose plans are to release 50 albums, one for each of the United States; Michigan's already out, and Illinois is ready for release)

The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, "Against Pollution"
(an awesome live track from the Chapel Hill alt-rock group; you can download a bunch of other cover songs and live tracks from the band's music page)

Ladies and gentlemen I am floating in space

Found a used copy of this classic album by the band Spiritualized today and I am now on cloud nine (to the ninth power). If you're looking for a spacey, Beatlesesque, electro-pop masterpiece, you need to get your hands on Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. You won't regret it.

New Jump Cut episode! Plus, Devin covers Massive Attack!

Just finished another episode of Jump Cut Radio, which you can either download here or stream from the official website!

Also, I've been noodling around with GarageBand for a couple weeks and made this cover of one of my favorite Massive Attack songs. I hope you enjoy it.

Devin DiMattia, "Teardrop"

Hopefully, it'll be posted on my 15 Megs of Fame page pretty soon, so you'll be able to rate the track and leave comments.

Speaking of cover songs, if you download the new episode of Coverville, you can hear host Brian Ibbott play my request, Travis's cover of "Be My Baby"!

My Early Bird "X&Y" Review

Okay, okay, first off, I am happy to report that the new Coldplay album does NOT suck. It is, in fact, quite anthemic and very enjoyable. Of course, this is merely first impressions. Suprisingly, I didn't much care for A Rush of Blood to the Head when I first got it. (I still think that "Amsterdam" is one of their worst songs)

Anyway, so my local music store had some early copies of the new album and I, being the rabid Coldplay fan that I am, immediately plunked down my cold hard cash for a taste of smooth Britrock goodness. Well, upon immediate consumption, X&Y is bittersweet. First off, the album's copy protected, motherf!@#er!! I've been lucky enough to not be a fan of band's that've released copy-protected albums so far, but not this time. Oddly enough, when I put it in my computer, iTunes recognized it, but it only revealed five or six tracks. I ripped those onto my computer with no difficulty, but I had to whip out Audio Hijack Pro to get the rest.

I was surprised to hear a completely different version of "Talk" than the version Scenestars leaked a couple months ago. Both have the Kraftwerk guitar riff and they both sound like finished studio versions, but the album version has completely reworked verses and a new chorus (the old chorus returns at the end of the song, though).

I'll talk more about the new Coldplay album, as well as my beef with copy protection, on the next episode of Jump Cut Radio.

PostSecret of the Week

All this and more at PostSecret, the premier grassroots art project.

quit the dreadfull job

Tired of browsing porno sites at 1 AM? Yeah, me neither. Still, if you're starting to get friction burn and would like to take a break, schlep on down to Spamusement, where Steven Frank illustrates exactly what it is those spam e-mail subject lines are talking about (one such example is shown above).

Thanxalot to Funtime Ben for the link! I promise I'll find some cool stuff ON MY OWN in the near future!

ChemBros Remixed!

Have I already mentioned this? I don't remember. Score tons of free remixes of songs from the excellent album Push the Button by the Chemical Brothers at chemicalbrothersremixed.com!

All Hail the Swim!

The creation of Adult Swim, as drawn by Howell Golson. Click on the pic to see all three panels of the drawing.

Thanks to Tiny Showcase for the link!

Iron & Wine, Woman King

I'm gonna try and see this group at the Cat's Cradle in Carborro, NC, this June, but until then, take a listen to this excellent EP from acoustic Sub Pop rockers Iron & Wine, who've gained some mainstream notice by having their cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" featured in the film Garden State.

The Woman King EP is an excellent and affordable way to get acquainted with this group. Singer/songwriter Sam Beam expands on his traditionally minimalistic sound by adding layer upon layer of exquisite instrumentation and vocals. This is most evident in the opening title track, which you can download for free off the band's official website.

Also, the June Catbirdseat mix is now up, featuring music from Band of Horses (who'll be the opening act at the Iron & Wine concert), Sufjan Stevens, and a bunch of people I've actually never heard of!

'80s revival video time!

Found this great homemade music video for the song "Working for the Weekend," courtesy of Stereogum. Almost makes me wanna pull out the camcorder, whip up iMovie, and make a music video of my own. We'll see...

Born-Again Indie Music Fan

If you've parused the sidebar of my site recently, you might've noticed that I've expanded my "Top 5 of 2005 (so far)" to two seperate sections: one for mainstream labels and one for indie bands. Now, I'm not going to be playing favorites out of these two sections, but I would like to say if you want great music at a great price, click on some of the links in the indie list. I've actually received e-mails from the artists thanking me for buying their music!

In related indie news, I was over at The Catbirdseat and they mentioned this indie label called My Mean Magpie, which offers up entire albums of their artists' music FOR FREE!! How cool is that? I suggest you start by streaming their label sampler to find something you like. After listening to a couple songs by the group Toys for Elliot, I decided to download their 2-disc release, which cost me nary a dime, just a few minutes of download time.

If you guys liked that electronica song that sampled Sesame Street, you're bound to like this cover of a Sesame Street song by My Mean Magpie group Georgia, off their album Nothing New.

Spoon, Gimme Fiction

After many weeks deliberation, I finally went out and bought the new Spoon album. After obtaining said album, I have decided that I would've pre-ordered it months ago if the group had done the following two things differently:

1. Replaced the cover image with the image in the booklet of the Red Riding Hood character holding the decapitated head of the Big Bad Wolf.
2. Make "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine" the lead single instead of "I Turn My Camera On"

But I digress. This is a great album. Britt Daniel has the uncanny ability to sound like John Lennon and Paul McCartney AT THE SAME TIME! This is especially evident in the opening track, "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" and "They Never Got You". While the album does seem to lose steam around the second half, the first half is filled with non-stop hits that infect your brain with their incessant catchiness. I've even started to enjoy "I Turn My Camera On," a song that, upon my first listen of it, I thought to myself, "Is this by that band that everyone's making such a big deal over?" Believe me; the hype is true.

Also, if you purchase the album (you know, with money, at a music store?) you get a bonus EP of outtakes and demos, so c'mon, go out and support the artists, por favor!