The Top 9 Acts on the Coachella lineup that I'm the Most Excited About

So all the hoopla last week was about the finally official Coachella lineup. This week, I dedicate the Top 9 to the 9 Acts I'm most pumped up to see. Enough babble, here's the list:

9. The Whitest Boy Alive - My buddy Blake tipped me on the Kings of Convenience while I was travelling and I immediately liked it. The Whitest Boy Alive is Kings frontman Erlend Oye's (its a crazy Norwegian "O" in "Oye") other project. And while he does bear a striking resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite, his music is so mellow and relaxing...I'm really into both projects right now.




8. Vampire Weekend - 'Contra' is the album everyone is talking about. I nearly took the roof off my car bouncing to "Diplomat's Son" this week. Pretty fuckin catchy indie-pop and a lot of fun...They were also #1 on the Billboard chart last week...Crazy, huh?


7. Hot Chip - When am I not stoked to see Hot Chip? I think Chris Trenchard and I are gonna have to develop a new dance routine to impress the nearby bystanders when Hot Chip drops "Out at the Pictures". I'm liking the new stuff that's slowly being leaked too. Hot Chip is one of the livest, most electronically orgasmic and move your ass non-stop, bands I've ever heard. Dont miss 'em.




6. De La Soul - Have you ever seen De La Soul live? Soo consistently good. One of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time rocks it live, in superimpressive fashion. Old stuff and new stuff...you'll always have a good time. Check it out.



5. Grizzly Bear - Ok....the makers of my Album of the Year have eluded me so far, hence my excitement. I'll be looking to unwind when I check them out and I'll be thinking of Michael MacDonald during "While You Wait for the Others".



4. Dirty Projectors - Girlie harmonies and refined melodies await me during this set. Another fantabulous band who'll pick me up for the booty shakin i'm gonna crave as the night unwinds.


That's a pretty good band photo, but is it as good as this?:


I didn't think so...


3. The XX - I cannot get enough of this band right now. These 4 twenty somethings from London have got me hooked. The expiration of their youth wanes as they come into their own as artists with beautifully written songs that hum and whisper sweet nothings in your ear from start to finish.




2. Fever Ray - My current obsession is with Karin Andersson and anything she touches. She is so strangely creative, oddly enchanting, just plain weird and I am completely intrigued. She cast a spell on me and I cant get her out of my brain. It's not a go around singing type of spell, but a go around thinking about her creations and oddities and never being able to fully understand where she comes up with this shit. Point is...I'm really fucking curious. Plain and simple. She's become the indie shock-value chick. Think Lady Gaga, but in a twisted electronica, "i dont give a crap what is going on around me cause i'm weirder than everyone" type of way. By the way, here's a link to the new album by The Knife, Karin's other project: http://theknife.net/




1. LCD Soundsystem - Yup...This is my #1. One of the most important American bands, who've shaped and influenced the indie-electro scene as we know it today. They've done everything from uncontrollably, control-surrendering jams, to reminding us that they're not Brits, but rather "North American scum!" When it's all said and done, I think LCD has something really big cooked up for Coachella and is my dark horse pick for the "IT" performance of the festival.

This guy is gonna rock the bajesus out of you (I'm serious):



Ok...So sorry if I missed your favorite band or some shit, but at least I laid it out.. I'm also pretty stoked on the Passion Pit, Orbital, Flying Lotus, Phoenix, Mew, Echo & the Bunnymen, DEVO, MGMT and Gorillaz of the world (et al.) Overall, Goldenvoice put on a pretty formidable party and its gonna be crackin'. As for no more single day passes being sold, phooey to that, but it'll ultimately lead to a more hardcore 3-day crowd. Which is what we really want, right? Not a bunch of 16yr olds floating around on Saturday just to see Tiesto... Party On Wayne!

The Top 9 Tracks for a Rainy Day Playlist

"Paris on a Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte (1876-7)


A quick shot to the brain for all y'all who are weathering the storm(s). Here's a short playlist of good rainy day music. Big ups to my buddy Fred Kim for the idea. I've also listed the albums that all of these tracks are on, so if u wanna peep the entire album, that would be a recommended rainy day listen as well. Download off ur favorite site, get em off itunes, but these tracks are guaranteed to do whatever you expect rainy day music to do. Enough babble, here's the list:

"Low Tide of the Night" by Everything But The Girl (off of Temperamental)
"Run" by Air (off of Talkie Walkie)
"Book of Life" by Common (off of Resurrection)
"For Mom" by Buckethead (off of Colma)
"Sun is Shining" by DJ Krush & Toshinori Kondo (off of Ki-Oku)
"Sunrain" by LTJ Bukem (off of Journey Inwards)
"Hunter" by Bjork (off of Homogenic)
"Scene at the Open Air Market" by Thievery Corporation (off of Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi)
"Heidi Bruehl" (Plantlife's Love Philosophy Mix) by Tosca (off of Souvenirs)

Enjoy!

The Top 9 Worst LA Clipper Draft Picks of All-Time

Last Friday's 40 point shellacking that the Lakers placed on the Clippers, along with the recent news that #1 overall pick Blake Griffin will be out for the season, brought some very dark times in Clipper history to mind...The Clippers refer to those "dark times" as "drafts"...This week's list is dedicated to the Top 9 Worst Clipper Draft picks of All-Time. Enough babble, here's the list [Cue the circus music]:


9. Chris Wilcox (#8, 2002) - A fine young high schooler named Amar'e Stoudamire was sitting on the board, but Chris Wilcox proved too tempting. The Suns, wisely snatched Amar'e up with the following pick and the rest is back-up power forward/center history. Caron Butler was also sitting on the board after a stellar career at UConn, where he was named Big East player of the year.

8. Danny Ferry (#2, 1989) - I think Danny knew what he was in for when the Clippers took him with the 2nd overall pick in 1989. So much so, that he refused to play for them. One could say that Danny Ferry paved the way for Eric Lindros and Eli Manning to be big whiny cry babies and refuse to play for the team that drafted them. (Yeah...that;s him. The bald guy taking it from Shaq.)

7. Bo Kimble (#8, 1990) - A stellar college talent that as soon as he donned the red and white, stunk up every joint he played in.

6. Darius Miles (#3, 2000) - Granted the 2000 draft wasn't the deepest, Darius Miles was essentially a bust. After 2 marginal seasons with the Clip Show, he went on to have a mediocre, injury riddled career filled with controversy. He basically established himself as a suspect individual who never lived up to the hype. He gets bonus points for a cameo in National Lampoons: Van Wilder, as you guessed it, a basketball player.

5. Reggie Williams (#4, 1987) - Why do you draft these guys if you're just gonna ship 'em out after 2 years? Reggie Williams was progressing nicely each year with the Clips, but they shipped him out along with crybaby #1, Danny Ferry. Williams did end up having a decent slew of seasons, with the Nuggets, where he went by "Silk"...How're u gonna get rid of a guy named Silk?!!!!?. Scottie Pippen and Reggie Miller were also on the board when the Clips took Silk.

4. Yaroslav Korolev (#12, 2005) - When the Clippers' pick came up in 2005, Danny Granger, was still available, seemingly left there as a gift to the Clippers. "Here. Draft me. Everyone else has passed on me so far for some unknown reason, but you guys really need a player of my caliber, so they left me there for you." But did the Clippers take Granger and the 18.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 steals, 2.0 blocks and .524 fg% that he had in his senior season in New Mexico? Nope, Mike Dunleavy fulfilled some promise he made to Korolev's dad or some other dude he met in Eastern Europe and took Korolev. It was well understood that Korolev was a "project", who was at least 2 years away from producing at the NBA level. We're not talking the San Antonio Spurs here, we're talking the LA Clippers, a team that in no way, shape or form has been in a position to have the luxury of drafting a "project". Korolev, of course, is out of the league now after scoring a couple of baskets in practice that one time with the Clippers and went back to Russia. The Clippers didn't need the "project" that was Yaroslav Korolev. They needed Danny Granger.

3. Shaun Livingston (#4, 2004) - Wow...this just gets worse. In 2004, The Clippers wanted a point guard. Devin Harris was on the board after completing an illustrious 3-year career at Wisconsin and being named the Big Ten Player of the year. But they chose another "project" type player in Shaun Livingston. I remember my buddy Ben and I used to argue about the merits of Livingston over Harris. Ben contended that Livingston was the right pick, because of his tremendous upside. I on the other hand, said that just by looking at Livingston's gangly, skinny body, you could tell that he wasn't physically ready for the NBA. On February 26, 2007, Ben finally conceded that I was right when Livingston gave us one of sports most gruesome injuries (here's a link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1VLN2dlbV0.


2. Benoit Benjamin (#3, 1985) - As heard in the 1985 Clippers war room: "Alright guys, Ewing's off the board...Should we take this Chris Mullin guy from St.John's? Nah. What about this kid Karl Malone? Nah, he'll never amount to anything (Malone went on to become the 2nd all-time scorer in NBA history). How about Joe Dumars? He did just crack the top 10 all-time NCAA scoring list? Well..Benoit Benjamin's a seven footer. Where'd he go to college? Creighton....Ok...let's get him!" To the Clippers, passing up a 7-footer is about as hard for Al Davis and the Raiders to pass up a guy with 4.25 forty time, regardless of how poor his basic skills of the sport are....

1. Michael Olowokandi (#1, 1998) - Finally! The first overall pick for the Clippers! In probably the deepest draft of all-time, the Clippers chose Michael Olowakandi from University of the Pacific in the Powerhouse Big West conference. "The Kandi Man" had only played a few years of organized basketball, so he too had HUGE upside, that the Clippers just couldn't pass up. They could've taken...are you ready for this list? Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison and even "Tractor" Traylor. Instead, they went with The Kandi Man, who just like to Clippers reverted to the party line of mediocrity and usual shitiness.
The Candy Man Can

The Kandi Man Kan't

Welp....That't it. The Clippers look like they're a a year or two away from being a good team, as usual. While I did have fun going to some of their playoff games with my Clipper fan roommates that one time when they actually made it to the playoffs, they have no idea what to do when it comes to drafting players. In the meantime, all the Clipper fans and Clipper nation can do is hope:

The Top 9 Movies You Should Go See/Rent Right NOW!

Ok...real quick...before you start reading...See the link on the lower right hand column, that says "Follow"? Click it and you'll be pinged every time I make a new entry. Ok, enough shameless self-promotion. Here's the list:

9. Avatar in IMAX 3D - Go to wherever the nearest IMAX theater is. If you live in SB, i think its in Camarillo, SF has the Metreon, LA has Universal. This movie is MEANT to be seen in IMAX 3D...Anything else, will make it just another movie. My buddy Shish called it an "eyegasm". This movie was made to see on the big screen, in 3-D, in IMAX. James Cameron had to invent a hybrid camera to capture the movie exactly how he wanted.

8. The Red Violin - This movie came out in the late 90's. It traces the amazing life of a priceless violin and the historical periods in which it lived. Samuel L. Jackson plays a prominent role in one of the time periods...One of my all time faves and makes this list due to its relative obscurity.

7. Up In The Air - (cue fader voice) Fuckin Clooney Man... On the real though, Clooney is the man. He owned it in this flick. It's an honest portrayal of an unusual man. Clooney is the perfect vessel for your emotional ups and downs as you watch this. Jason Reitman made another great film. Don't miss it.

6. Invictus - You knew Morgan Freeman would play Nelson Mandela some day. The day is here and he nailed it. Even though I can never get Team America's "Maaaattt Daaymunnn" out of my head, his performance was passable and he didnt totally screw up the movie. Clint Eastwood chose a really great story and the movie is better if you dont know what happened to the South African rugby team in real life before you see it.

5. Team America World Police - Hey you! Yeah, You! The bozo who hasn't seen this yet...do yourself a favor and go watch one of the flat out most hilarious movies of all time. If you've already seen it, then go watch it again...You know you want to.

4. Bottle Shock - I never really liked Alan Rickman until I saw this flick. It's based on a true story about when Napa Wines were finally considered worthy of being served in the same establishment as French wines. Awesome flick, especially if you like wine.

3. The Wire - It's not a movie, but it is the greatest TV show of all time. No joke. Some may stigmatize it as "just another cop show" when in reality The Wire is about the living, breathing pulse of the City of Baltimore. Cops, politicians, policy makers, schools, drug dealers, corners, school kids, newspapers, the docks... Start at Season 1 and never look back.

2. Rachel Getting Married - This movie totally threw me off by how amazingly real and honest it was. I always thought Anne Hathaway to be some cheesy teen actress who was destined for romantic comedies for the rest of her career, but i was wrong. I'm sorry Anne, I'm a believer now. Hathaway plays a recovering addict who returns home for her older sister's wedding. Jonathan Demme gives us a profound look at a REAL American family, with REAL isues. The movie can be a bit of a downer, but so can life. Watch it, take a breath and accept how jarring life can be sometimes...

1. Redbelt - The most powerful, stirring movie I've seen in a long time. Playwright and screenwriter David Mamet writes and directs the story of an LA jiu-jitsu academy owner. Events are set in motion in this guy's life and so many forces are pushing against him from all angles. The physical and emotional strain that's placed on his life is so alarming that emotions inside of you build up exponentially until the very end. I can't say enough about this movie and that it moved way up my list of all-time favorite movies. Also, its only an hour and twenty minutes long and often feels like a play.