Death + Taxes From The Editors Blog

Friday, June 27, 2008THE NOTWIST ARE COMING TO AMERICA

We know you've all been wondering: Are The Notwist touring America this fall? Ja! Ja they are! Are they going to suck? Nein! Nein they won't! The dates are pasted below, and, if you haven't checked out our Notwist article yet from Death+Taxes #14, it's on stands now!

THE NOTWIST FALL U.S. TOUR DATES
Oct 10 Toronto, ONT - Lee's Palace
Oct 11 Montreal, PQ - Le National
Oct 12 Boston, MA - Roxy Theater
Oct 13 New York, NY - Webster Hall
Oct 14 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarioan
Oct 15 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Oct 16 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
Oct 17 Chicago, IL - Logan Square
Oct 18 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
Oct 20 Denver, CO - Bluebird
Oct 21 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
Oct 22 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
Oct 24 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Oct 25 Portland, OR - Berbati's
Oct 27 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
Oct 29 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater

RETURN OF SPACE INVADERS

As if nostalgia hasn't already consumed enough of our lives, did it really need to seep into the video game market? Indeed it did, very much so. Square-Enix has recently released a welcomed update to the Atari classic Space Invaders, aptly titled Space Invaders Extreme. They set the gameplay against a psychedelic background accompanied by some a-okay Japanese techno music. As you can tell from the video above, it's changed quite a bit since its release thirty years ago, drawing attention to the ADD-riddled kids who the game is geared towards today. Also, the premise of Space Invaders hasn't changed in any video game at any time in the past three decades. Whether it's today's popular titles like Resistance, Gears of War, or Halo, the premise is still the same: Kill the aliens. Which is great fun, though I'm sure Carl Sagan is turning over in his grave right now. SB

TRETORN OPEN SOHO STORE, HIPSTERS, EUROPEANS ENTHUSED

Tretorn Shoes, one of the great inventions of the nineteenth century, alongside the matchbook, escalators and the stethescope, has recently opened a store in NYC's Soho. It's quite large, and they sell all the good stuff: hip white tennis sneakers, rubber boots, apparel, and even bicycles. It is located at 150 Spring Street and is definitely worth the visit. It's not all crappy and modern like the rest of the area's boutiques (how does anyone stay in business selling five t-shirts and ten pairs of sneakers?) and has a nice wooden sheen to it. Stay classy, Tretorn Shoes. SB

Thursday, June 26, 2008Skateboarder Seizes the 405 Freeway!!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008SILVER JEWS TO TOUR AMERICA

The Silver Jews' David Berman has always been dubious about touring, but he just made thousands of nerdy white kids across America very happy by announcing a Silver Jews tour at the end of this summer in support of the fantastic Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. The album title is a reference to the destruction humans have wrought on our planet. Of course, you'd already know that if you read our Silver Jews article in the latest issue. Haven't? Click HERE.

SILVER JEWS TOUR DATES

Thu Aug 28 Columbus OH Milo
Fri Aug 29 Cleveland OH Beachland Ballroom
Sat Aug 30 Pittsburgh PA William Pitt Union Assembly
Sun Aug 31 Pontiac MI The Crofoot
Tue Sep 2 Toronto ON Lee's Palace
Wed Sep 3 Montreal QC La Sala Rossa
Thu Sep 4 Northampton MA Iron Horse Music Hall
Fri Sep 5 Cambridge MA Middle East Club Downstairs
Sat Sep 6 Brooklyn NY Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Sun Sep 7 New York NY Bowery Ballroom
Tue Sep 9 Philadelphia PA First Unitarian Church
Wed Sep 10 Washington DC Black Cat #
Thu Sep 11 Carrboro NC Cat's Cradle #
Fri Sep 12 Asheville NC Grey Eagle Tavern & Music #
Sat Sep 13 Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse #
Sun Sep 14 Jacksonville FL Jack Rabbits #
Mon Sep 15 Orlando FL The Social #
Tue Sep 16 Tallahassee FL Club Downunder #
Wed Sep 17 New Orleans LA One Eyed Jacks #
Thu Sep 18 Houston TX Walter's on Washington
Fri Sep 19 Austin TX Emo's
Sat Sep 20 Denton TX Hailey's
Mon Sep 22 Tucson AZ Plush
Tue Sep 23 San Diego CA The Casbah
Fri Sep 26 Los Angeles CA Echoplex
Sat Sep 27 Big Sur CA Fernwood Resort
Tue Sep 30 Portland OR Wonder Ballroom #
Thu Oct 2 Seattle WA Neumos
Fri Oct 3 Boise ID Neurolux
Sat Oct 4 Salt Lake City UT Urban Lounge #
Sun Oct 5 Denver CO Bluebird Theater #
Tue Oct 7 Omaha NE Waiting Room #
Wed Oct 8 Minneapolis MN Triple Rock Social Club
Thu Oct 9 Iowa City IA The Picador
Fri Oct 10 Chicago IL Metro
Sat Oct 11 Indianapolis IN Birdys Bar & Grill
Sun Oct 12 Nashville TN Exit/In #
# - with Monotonix

TED NUGENT CALLS FAN A COCKSUCKER, LAUGHS ABOUT IT

Ted Nugent, guitarist, radio talk-show host, and right-wing collaborator, is one funny motherfucker. Check him out charging fans for autographs (the wave of the future?). He even claims that a guitar priced at sixty bucks would be worth thousands if he signs it, granted the owner "uses his fucking head." He says a lot of other foul-mouthed, crummy stuff, but what do you expect? He was surrounded by losers. Speaking of which, he'll probably be a Senator one day.

Coldplay Annoying Whether Plagiarists or Not

At first, I defended Coldplay's new album, Violet Hill. At least they're trying the whole obligatory "experimental" thing. The greats have done it: Smashing Pumpkins had Adore, Radiohead had Kid A and Death Cab for Cutie had, well, their latest album -- if experimenting in laziness is applicable. But Coldplay isn't a great. A Rush of Blood To The Head was good, but the band's pretty much just easy listening.

And they're doing the whole pseudo-political thing. They've sprinkled in some ideologies, which is fine and all, but they don't really make any point. And to compliment their new 'experimental' persona, they've launched a cryptic little website called TalkTheTour.com. Whenever the site gets 33,000 hits, a new tour date is released. What's that shit?

Kinda sucks for them that as soon as their album went #1, allegations got out that they bit off Creaky Boards, who released a pretty trite YouTube video claiming Coldplay's Viva La Vida" sounded a bit too similar to their "The Song I Didn't Write." No, that irony is not a joke. To make matters worse, there are rumors Coldplay ripped off Satriani, too. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem too possible considering, well - all things considered.

I've heard "Viva La Vida" and "The Song I didn't Write," and they're both pretty annoying. All I can say is, whoever can take credit for the melody isn't taking credit for much.

Jason Bateman - "I'm In A Will Smith Movie, Fuck It, Next!"

Haha, that was Jason Bateman's response to being asked whether or not he was concerned about his latest movie, Hancock, doing poorly in the box office. Funny, no? He was full of similarly hilarious quips last night at his MTV News interview for the anti-superhero superhero movie starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Bateman of course. I sat through the whole thing and realized I was surrounded by geeky Arrested Development fans, but is there any other kind? Here are all the funny quotes I captured, followed by the trailer for Hancock which actually looks really good. Go see it!

On being in Hancock and other movies:

"People think I'm Charlize's bodyguard."

"I'm not a huge benefit to the box office."

"If they're offering me the lead, script ain't that great!"

On Arrested Development and the upcoming movie:

"We all want to do [the movie]. The actors, the writers, everyone!"

"I experienced a nice run as a kid but then this show came along."

"I was a retarded fan of the show. There was definitely some narcissism in it."

Hooray for Jason Bateman!

Encounters: Best... Movie... Ever.

Last night marked the end of the run for Werner Herzog's new movie Encounters At The End Of The World at The Film Forum in NYC. It's hard to think of a form praise that can be heaped onto Herzog's body of work without seeming redundant, so I'll resort to the reductive "best movie ever" designation. The shit is insane. Herzog's exploration of Antarctic "nature" transcends way beyond a PBS-level, and in the end becomes a meditation on human nature and the transience of life. It's also funny as hell - almost ecstatic. It's full of wonderment, and some of the goofiest, most profound characters in any movie, fiction or not. It's Herzog contemplating the end of the world, urging us all to go out laughing. This is a must-see.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008DEATH+TAXES 14 ON SALE NOW!

The latest issue of Death+Taxes is on sale today wherever high-quality print products are sold. Our favorite band Grizzly Bear is on the cover, and a slew of other great artists are in there to boot, like Wolf Parade and Silver Jews and even a sort of "tell all" with Harmony Korine.

If you have trouble finding Death+Taxes in your town, please e-mail us at info@deathandtaxesmagazine.com, and we'll be sure to whip your local retailer into shape.

Gogol Bordello Live At McCarren Pool

This last Friday Gogol Bordello played to what may quite possibly be the most eclectic audience I've ever seen in my entire life. Obviously Gogol bridges all sorts of gaps, musically speaking - gypsy, punk, circus, political, polka perhaps? - but honestly I've never seen such a random collection of people. This of course is a compliment to Eugene Hutz and crew.

So for those of you that haven't seen Gogol play, be prepared for the following fans: teenagers, psuedo-punks, actual punks, children, pregnant women, much older Eastern European women, jocks, random corporate men, your best friend's parents, goths with purple dreads, hippies and finally a few hipsters sitting on the side taking it all in.

New Beck Album ...well, Kicks Ass!

He may be a Scientologist, but all the new songs we've heard off of Beck's forthcoming, Dangermouse-produced album, Modern Guilt, are pretty amazing. No one can refute his amazing ability to evolve and reinvent himself, and Modern Guilt is certainly no exception. It's the perfect 60s psych and miminal electro compliment to your summer bbq's and bike rides. Stream "Orphans," "Gamma Ray," and "Chemtrails" at iLike.com.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008Battlestar Galactica - Best Show Ever?

I definitely think so! I once thought this show was strictly for extreme nerds, but then I noticed that several people whose opinions I actually respect had the show DVRed on their televisions. My curiosity peeked, I decided to watch the pilot on the internet (you can watch just about every single show online now, by the way).

Flash forward 3 months later and I'm currently caught up on all episodes to date. That's 4 seasons worth of an hour-long program. I don't want to think of how much of my life that is.

Regardless, last week's final episode, "Revelations," was by far the best hour of television I've seen in a while. And by the way it totally justifies my obsession with this program for the last few months. So much happened! I'll spare the 98% of you that don't know what I'm talking about and end my gushing here, but allow me to suggest (nay, IMPLORE) - watch this program. You have until January 2009 when Season 4 returns (thank you writers strike). That's plenty of time. And believe me, you won't regret it. - SK

Muslims Taking Over New York

We mean the band! Our favorite lo-fi boys from San Diego, The Muslims, have been all over Brooklyn this last weekend. Tonight they play the Market Hotel, Thursday a party at the newest hip venue in NYC, Santos Party House, Friday a show at Union Pool with Grizzly Bear buddy, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Saturday a house party. PHEW!

Here's their video for our favorite song, "Extinction" (currently on repeat in our office). And by the way, given their name, this was by far the hardest video to track down on You Tube.

Monday, June 9, 20083G iPhone Just Announced

from Gizmodo:

"Just now at WWDC, Steve Jobs confirmed the long-rumored 3G iPhone. People said they wanted 3G and 56% said it was too expensive. 'Today we're introducing the iPhone 3G.'

Key Features:
Charcoal Back
Solid Metal Buttons
Same 3.5" Display
Camera
Flush Headphone Jack
Dramatically Improved Audio

3G Advantage
Showing a EDGE vs 3G comparison loading a webpage, 3G took 21 seconds. EDGE...waiting...waiting...uhh...59 seconds! Same phone, same location. 2.8X faster - and they claim loads webpages faster than Nokia N95 (33 seconds) or Treo 750 (34 seconds).

Battery Life
5-6 hours of browing
24 hours of audio battery

And GPS!"

Quote of the YEAR!

Ok, ok, sometimes we read Perez Hilton and yes, it's pretty much all garbage - we admit it! But this quote made us pee our pants.

"A lot of people like to fool you and say that you're not smart if you never went to college, but common sense rules over everything. That's what I learned from selling crack"

- Snoop tells the new issue of Esquire

New Issue - Sneak Peek

Read 'em and weep! The new issue is out in just a couple of weeks, and longtime D+T favs GRIZZLY BEAR are on the cover. Of course you probably know by now, but Grizzly Bear will be opening for Radiohead on tour this August. Also in this issue is The Notwist, My Morning Jacket, filmmaker Harmony Korine, funnyman Michael Ian Black, and a rare exclusive interview with The Boredoms. Look for it on stands starting June 17!

Stream The New Sigur Ros Album

Wednesday, June 4, 2008OBAMA ALL THE WAY

We're one step closer to President Obama, kiddies. I'm so excited I want to leave work early and get happy hour beers to celebrate. Here's his speech from last night in Minnesota as he secured the nomination. Brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it?

Horse Racing is Cruel but Big Brown is One Incredible Race Horse

As this Saturday's Belmont Stakes approaches we can't help but get a little excited about Big Brown. Sure, we think horse racing is cruel - everyone saw what happened to Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, right? - but Big Brown is just so exciting to watch! And he's up for the Triple Crown! It's like the first time we listened to Arcade Fire and realized something great was put in front of us. Here he is winning the Preakness Stakes a few weeks ago. No contest baby.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008What I Want for Christmas.

Is it only available in denim?

Prince Covering Radiohead

We all know the story at this point - Prince covered Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella a little over a month ago. The video was put on You Tube but then Prince's people immediately had it taken down for copyright issues. Thom Yorke responded with a laugh and a "sorry but we own the rights to that song so put it back up" letter. Of course, it never was but I did find this fan video. The guy is clearly hammered as he can't keep his hand steady, but the vocals are good enough for me!

So here it is, in all its glory:

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