Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is famous for a couple reasons.  Most notably,

1. She’s Jessica Simpson’s sister.
2. She got a nose job.
3. She lip-synced on Saturday Night Live.
4. She married Pete Wentz. Continue Reading

“Boy” has been “handpicked” as the debut single from The Orchard, Ra Ra Riot’s sophomore album, and the video recently crash-landed on the internet courtesy of label Barsuk Records.  A mere sixteen-count in and there’s no question why it is “the chosen one.”  The bubbling bass line immediately demands reciprocal head nodding.  If you’re not sure what this looks like, just watch the bassist, yo! Continue Reading

For a country of criminals, the Aussies sure know how to make a funny.  In this 90-second spot Honda: Down Under is marketing one of its subcompact models, the Jazz, to a new market sector:  Hipsters.  And why not, jazz is hip, right.  Maybe so, but how hip are very small cars manufactured by very large corporations? Continue Reading

Nobody has ever accused Yeasayer of being too normal.  With the release of the video for “Madder Red” they’ve assured themselves of at least another year of anti-mainstream street cred.  Equal parts weird and disgusting, the video stars “cute-as-a-button” Kristen Bell fawning over her beloved, but ailing pet, which resembles a goiter with a mangled baby leg projecting from it. Continue Reading

Perhaps an attempt to modernize or “get with the program,” Built to Spill (BtS) members Doug Martsch and Brett Nelson have doubled-back to revamp se7en classic BtS tracks.  Under the moniker The Electronic Anthology Project (EAP), their mission is simple…techno-synth face lifts. Continue Reading

From the opening countdown of “Un, deux, twois,” this dance track grabs your attention and slaps you with its white glove.  The only problem with this duel is that YOU are on the short end of three “bangs” that will leave you dead like disco.  And as if Mark Ronson and his infectious beats + production aren’t enough to worry about, it turns out his “Business Intl” includes the likes of Q-Tip.  One, Two, Oh My God! Continue Reading

Gothenburg, Sweden’s The Tough Alliance (TTA) generated some of the best pop music of the 2000’s and now Eric Berglund, one half of the masterfully creative duo, has rolled out a solo effort that is worth some bat swinging* of its own.  Although the eight-song, White Magic, logs a sub 30-minute runtime, it’s packed with same poptacular delights that shone on TTA’s A New Chance (2007). Continue Reading