Wednesday, July 30, 2008

New Harry Potter Trailer!!!


Since July of 2007 and my second visit to see Order of the Phoenix in theaters I've been eagerly awaiting the release of the sixth film. Even though we're still over a hundred days away from the actual release of the movie (SO FAR AWAY!!!) the first trailer is finally here. Judging by the trailer Half Blood Prince will kick some serious tail and rightfully so as Dumbledore looks to be even more of a badass than in the last film.

Check it out...

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Best of 2008 (Q1/Q2)


Here at Pie, we love lists. Maybe a little too much (I’m pulling for a lift on the Constitutional ban on man/list marriages…). We’ll look for any excuse to compile one. [ed: Does not reflect the opinions of the Pie staff] For example, one look at the Mayan calendar will tell you that 2008 is officially a little past the halfway mark. Here’s a (partial) listing of the greatest musical offerings January through June brought us (Don’t worry, to the chagrin of one certain Pie writer, and the joy of everyone else, it’s 100% Krug-free!) [ed: Again, does not reflect the opinions of the Pie staff]

Santogold – Santogold

On perhaps the debut album of the year, Philadelphia’s answer to M.I.A. delivers sublime hybrids of synth-pop, disco-punk, and many more hyphenated subgenres so fringe they don’t even exist. Don’t be deterred by the recent MTV endorsement; these songs are club bangers even you jaded indies can enjoy unironically.
Download: Creator; Lights Out; L.E.S. Artistes

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals

Yes, the whole mashup thing may be ‘so 2002,’ if you ask MC Lars, but Pittsburgh-based DJ Gregg Gillis takes the A+B concept and adds every other letter of the alphabet to create algebra hell, and pure genius. Magic happens everywhere on his fourth full-length, especially with extended blends such as International Player’s Anthem over Paranoid Android, and Woo Ha! over Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. An ADD-addled music nerd’s Valhalla.
Download: Play Your Part (Pt. 1); Give Me a Beat; No Pause

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Say what you will about the latest in the line of over-blogged indie acts (see also: Arcade Tapes N’ Monkeys), this debut is undeniably infectious. What “Graceland” would sound like if Paul Simon regularly said ‘fuck.’ Breezy, buzzy and with its fair share of steel-drum, haters will call it a mediocre cash-in on sounds of old, but just attempt to get “Bryn’s” central riff out of your brain within seven days. No small feat.
Download: Oxford Comma; Walcott; Bryn

Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords

Whoa, a comedy album, soundtrack and New Zealand oddity all wrapped into one (three usually acrid tastes rarely seen in Pie). The brilliantly-afroed duo from the HBO hit show of the same name deliver smart-yet silly send-ups of modern folk mixed with urban living. Come for the ‘80s synths, stay for the stilted rapping and awkward lady-worship.
Download: Robots; Boom; Inner City Pressure



Honourable Mentions:
Beck – Modern Guilt
Del the Funkee Homosapien – 11th Hour
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Weezer – Weezer (Red Album)

So, what do we have to look forward to for the rest of this great year? Well, I guess the new Hold Steady is already out (too lazy to Google it)… Don’t expect anything new from Radiohead for another seven years… Oh well, we always have Chinese Democracy to pray for…

-Dan

Friday, July 11, 2008

Lil' Reviews

I'll be frank. I had about a paragraph's worth to say about each of the following albums, and then, just as I finished, accidentally closed the window without saving. Guess that's just a testament to how slow the summer months have been. Maybe I'll get up the effort to rewrite about these, but for now, here's the skinny.

Beck- Modern Guilt: 4 pies. Buy it.

Black Kids- Partie Traumatic: 4 1/2 pies. Buy it.

Albert Hammond Jr.- Como Te Llama?: 3 pies. Give it a listen.

The Vines- Melodia: 1 pie. Burn it.

Not the classiest update, sure, but at least you now have some direction in your life again.

-Andrew