Hotel parking lot shooting

I ran out of good Animal Collective photographs so this old picture of mechanical/organic romance will have to do. Anyways the new Animal Collective EP Water Curses found its way onto the internet a few weeks ago. Like always their shit is worth its weight in gold so here is a 24-k nug of a song.

Water Curses - Animal Collective

The Justice + Diplo show last Thursday hit me like a pile of bricks made of snow filled with dead batteries. The show restored my faith in 1) live music and 2) the French. The best part about the show was that it was hosted by myspace. OMGZ I <3 MYSPACE!!!! Myspace is so much cooler than facebook or livejournal or blogger. yay. So here is a nice track by Midfield General that was produced by Justice. Let my just say that the name says it all.

Midfield General - Disco Sirens

There are a lot of awesome shows coming up, but the one I would a ticket too the most would be YELLE. If you dont know her watch this.

Another cardboard throwing frenzy

Recommended to me as a band comparable to Shapes & Sizes, The Born Ruffians are another "messy pop" band who I currently can't peel myself away from. Fun, upbeat, but a little bit crazy, The Born Ruffians promise to make late night decorating frenzies alive with even more colored paper than Shapes & Sizes offered up. Plus you'll be inclined to unfold your Indian crossed legs to get up and dance and stomp around your playful mess. Their first album Red, Yellow & Blue just came out and primary colors have never sounded so good.

Here's are some favorite tracks followed by a fittingly high speed music video for their single "Hummingbird".

"Hummingbird"
"Barnacle Goose"
"Little Garcon"



UPDATE: If my analogy weren't already perfect enough, turns out almost all their pictures on myspace are of construction paper cut outs and colorful lines of yarn.

Terrorbird means business..

Ahh The Mae-Shi. An explosion of unpredictable choral sweetness, right along-side drums of genuine chaos. Their new record HLLLYH was just released on the already legendary Moshi Moshi Records. They're painting the West Coast with rubix cube colors all through the spring. 4/22 @ 21 Grand in Oakland & then again on 4/27 at the Bottom Of The Hill. As it might be obvious by their video for "Run To Your Grave"(to all you tasteful readers of course) it might be a bad idea to just say "bah!" to this one.

You are number 6

So the new Girl Talk album leaked two days ago. The only catch is that it is not by Girl Talk. Pennsylvania based Speaky released his mixes under the name Girl Talk and that shit spread like vegemite on sourdough. Im sure Greg Gillis is not too thrilled, But this kid has some good stuff piled up in his dorm room.

Drop it - Speaky

And here is a little piece of candy for everyone:

Sexual Seduction - Hot Chip

rocket man.

for the few readers left who fancy little bikes

check out the new web vid from mutiny bmx over at defgrip (awesome bmx/design blog.) it knocked my socks off how well it was shot and how good the team is (definitely one of the more underrated groups of riders right now.) it was all shot in austin, tx around new years. waning: loading time is a bitch, but it's high quality (you can even watch it in hd here or download it for you apple tv! ya douche!)
...also, fit dropped shinin' this week.

p.s.
bought my justice/diplo ticket today, who's gonna drive me?

Schwarzenegger wasn't the only one.

(This has nothing to do with music and I don't care.)

Remember that movie Junior staring Vanny Deanito and Arnold Schwarzenegger where Arnie gets totally preggers? I somehow remember the posters very vividly even though I was only 6 when it came out (click here for a frightening refresher on the movie). Anyways, those of you fascinated by bad movies and weird science will love the fact that it has actually happened. That's right. Hairy bellies never looked so good.



Click here to meet the man behind the miracle, Thomas Beatie.

"Around the World in 60 Seconds" issue #4

Hello fantasy lovers,
got a big SPECIAL issue of Around the World in 60 Seconds...the 2008(or 2009) comic-to-film preview!!!
First up lets take care of the obvious, and movies you've probably already seen the trailer for:
IRON MAN: May 2, 2008 starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau (made, elf) the world of capitalist Tony Stark is underway. While this film will not be dealing with Tony Stark's massive drinking problem, I am ready to be bored with this film, and wait for the sequel so I can see Terrance Howard as War Machine!
DARK KNIGHT: July 18, 2008...I get chills of excitement when i watch this trailer...HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!

Now to some other very promising comic-to-film up-comers. Lets start with those that have trailers:
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army: July 11, 2008. Now for those of you who follow my blog posts you will know I will Hellboy and the Mike Mignola universe...so you know I am going to be super excited for this one:

The Incredible Hulk: June 13, 2008...While I do believe we can all agree and pretend the first HULK film does not exist, this film is a) NOT A SEQUAL and b) Screenplay written by Edward Norton (also starring Ed as Bruce Banner!!!):

and lastly (well I could name several more...) I will leave you with this link, for what I believe will be one of the coolest comic-to-film transfers. And when I say coolest, it will be awesome and better then DareDevil...

http://imdb.com/title/tt0458525/

Issue #5 preview: DMZ TPB #4, Ex Machina, and more...

for all your comic, fantasy, and nerd needs go down to Comicopolis located downtown on Front Street!!! yay for team J-Roy!

you are the last dragon

magic spells off of the new crystal castles album. came out yesterday.

In retrospect

I still have no idea why Shapes & Sizes didn't take the blogworld by storm last year.

Alone/Alive
Head Movin'

These first two songs are simply fantastic, with what I describe as "messy": a catchy riff paired with some drums that go so wild you're left doing a simply uncomprehensible dance. It feels, well, really really good. It's like staying up too late making construction paper cutouts and then at 3am having all of the scraps of paper surrounding you jump up and fly in a messy messy circle all around you. Like Matilda, except things collide.

I actually don't know if it's like that for anyone else, but it is for me, and that's why I love it. Do me a favor and let me know that they are, in fact, fantastic and that I don't actually have bad taste.

Check out Shapes and Sizes' myspace here. Also, both these songs are off their sophomore album Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner

bug fighting = creeps me out!

...it's all about cat weight lifting.

flight of the non-music-related you tube video!

what lifts my spirits when faced with far too many essays to write:

" you make me touch your hands for stupid reasons.."


"DING! DING!"


& of course..

"Around The World In 60 Seconds" Issue #3

WOW! And welcome back to another issue of 'Around The World In 60 Seconds". Well it was a giant week for comic releases and comics I have read. First off, and I'll try to make this quick, last week I read Mark Millar's "WANTED". With an introduction from Brian K. Vaughn (LOST, Runaways, Ex Machina, Y The Last Man) that allows the read to ache to get to the last page, no one is disappointed. I loved this from start to finish, and like the words of B.K.V. the last pages alone will make everything worth it. Mark Millar is the writer of other such amazing comics: "Wolverine: Enemy of the State", Marvel Civil War, House of M, and many others (which if you've read know he is a very smart and face paced writer. Secondly continuing my love for Abe Sapien, this week the second installment to his solo 5-part comic series came out (See Around the World issue #1) and Mike Mignola is still doing a wonderful job at giving this amazing character more space and depth.
And finally....to the juice. This week (well yesterday, 3/11) Robert Kirkham dropped Walking Dead issue #47 titled "Mother and Child". While for those of you who refuse to be angered with waiting for ten page single issue to come out every other month I will not ruin the current standing of the Walking Dead cast, but OH MY GOD!!! I really, as the dedicated W.D. reader know exactly what Kirkham when he started this story arch called: NO ONE IS SAFE!
Okay, well thats all I've go to say for this week, but I can garantee you will see a post shortly about the release (3/11/08) of Brian Wood's DMZ trade paper back #4. I just wish I didn't have any more finals or papers to write...I JUST WANT TO READ MY DAMN COMICS!

p.s. they are coming out with a "WANTED" movie starting James Mcavoy and Jolie, and after I looked into it, the film has almost nothing to do with the comic.

Next Issue: DMZ #4, a preview to your favorite comics and their upcoming films!

i was going to post about sharks and seals

...but then i got lazy.

I can has power pop?

If you think that TacocaT is palindrome them im sure that you will enjoy this little Seattle-based LOL CATZ power pop band. Ok, their music has nothing to do with catz, but this song almost made me crap.

Bike Party - TacocaT

myspace.com/tacocattacocattacocat with a URL like that how can you not love them?

awareness test.

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

bonus mp3:
MIA - paper planes (holy fuck remix)

Don't stop til you get enough

The truth is I really can't get enough. I know this band is old news and Caitlin blogged about them ages ago but they are really, really good. The full length is coming out a week from today, they are no longer touring due to a misselaneous "injury" and they really make you want to play kung-fu or super mario bros 2. Please download, please listen and please enjoy.

Untrust Us- Crystal Castles
Love and Caring - Crystal Castles

six days at the bottom of the ocean, one on the shoreline

The time that I've gone without declaring the illuminating goodness of Beach House is inexcusable. It's clear to me that nearly everyone & their mother may already be aware of how essential their music is, but SCREW IT! Devotion has become quite possibly my favorite record of the year, thus far. Suppose clouds were composed of sound waves with chandeliers hanging overhead, carrying you on a retrospective glimpse of a longterm relationship expressed through abstract stories & visions of unknown faraway lands. That's Beach House. This Saturday they'll be at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco & I think I might buy something nice for a co-worker in order to get my shift covered that night. oh damn.

Something that is for sure is Explosions In The Sky next Wednesday in Santa Cruz with Dan-O & a plethora of killer clowns of the Del Mar/Nickelodeon persuasion. I may fall into a deep sleep from their orchestrated assault but it will surely be amazing regardless. & really when is the last time you heard me use that word?



Sweet sweet layers of feedback >>
- Live @ The Starlight Ballroom
- Live @ The Parish in Austin, Tx

Black Metal Cookies

I tend to fall in love with women who are idyllic housewives in an altered form. Girls covered in paint who bake delicious pies. Girls who sew halloween costumes like no ones business and then bring you hot tea and blankets. Needless to say, I'm kind of in love with this black metal girl who paints awesome pictures, never stops smiling, and now has a baking blog. Her name? Megan. Her profession? Awesome.*

"Boiled down to its very essence, metal is nothing more than a mixture of molasses and alienation. By that definition, these cookies are black fucking metal. Packed full of grim and evil spices, they will leave you feeling despondent and isolated within their stronghold of flavor. "

If you're not intrigued, you're probably suffering from a severe form of boring personality. If you are intrigued, head over to The Black Oven immediately. And get baking this week!


*We're all aloud cheesy formulaic lines every now and then, right?

I want to post this song for you

It has been out for awhile but I thought I might as well just do it.

Walk Around - Animal Collective

the guitar and the steer

This past Wednesday I found myself jumping for opposing forces of joy. My good friend Mia supplied me with a ticket to see the SOLD OUT surprisingly intimate sit-down Magnetic Fields show @ the Hearst Theater in San Francisco, as a part of their legendary reuniting. Their proverbial pop make up the most witty love songs, full of fuzz and heartbreaking noise, to come out of the 80's/90's, hands down. After a pint, or two (I chose beer in the midst of flossed out bohemian wineos), I was lead to my seat by a whispering tuxedo-ed usher & even picked up a couple damn fine exclusive screen prints. It was an awkwardly hilarious, precise and extremely unplugged. Each & every song was like a piece of Stephen Merritt's country heart being thrown to the stage floor, by way of ukulele of course.



Here is a pretty damn clear indication of how far their inspiration reaches:

The Arcade Fire - Born On A Train (live)

i can see colors

Concert alert!

There are a whole bunch of shows coming up in the next few months that I would like to share with you. First off I already got my ticket to see Justice and Diplo at the end of this month. Dance party? yes.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (diplo remix)

This weekend in San Francity there will be two really awesome shows. First off Crystal Castles and HEALTH will be playing at the independant while Mt. Eerie is playing at the Enola Maxwell High School Auditorium. I would personally go with Mt. Eerie but I'm sick in bed so I really don't have any say.

Crystal Castles vs HEALTH - Crimewave
(the Moools cover) - Mt. Eerie

Vampire Weekend and Yacht are also playing later this month but I heard that the show has already sold out. Thats about it for March. Hot Chip is playing at the end of April and Beirut is on Daniel's birthday in May. Hopefully people start coming down to Santa Cruz to say hello.

She & Him make a delightful duo

Think about this: If all your favorite musicians were besties, you'd probably have hot air balloons full of amazing CDs. Sometimes the most unusual of pairs make the best music together, and sometimes the sweetest of individuals (Khaela and YACHT) team up to make the most fun music evs.

Best new unexpected team: M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, together known as She & Him. Their album is a delicious mix of an almost country twang and 60s pop music (try "Sweet Darlin'" if you're into the 60s pop). For those of you addicted to covers, there's also a version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" as well as "You Really Gotta Hold On Me" by the Miracles. By far, the stand out tracks on the album are "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", a catchy tune that I love for it's sassy "I like your style" line. The opening track, "Sentimental Heart" is also an excellent song. It's very pretty and an great example of why M. Ward needed to team up with a girl with a cute voice all along.

Although the music is overall excellent, I have one complaint: The lyrics are weak. I don't mean they're bad, they're actually very well written. What I mean is that they tell a story of a terribly weak person. Someone who sits on the shelf waiting for someone (in "Why Do You...") and someone who has trouble overcoming heartache because they're too sappy ("Sentimental Heart").

My one complaint is something that's easy to get over, so I suggest you give it a listen anyways, if only because you have a crush on Zooey D.

>>> Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
>>> Sentimental Heart

"Around The WORLD IN 60 SECONDS" issue #2

Are you in the mood for some lobster? I'm not, I don't eat fish. But I am in the mood for some LOBSTER JOHNSON! Mike Mignola (the creator of Hellboy and B.P.R.D.) has now set in motion the Lobster Johnson mini-series that detail his adventures of fighting the Nazis. There are currently two issues out (I do believe only five will be released for now) for this so far amazing story arch "The Iron Prometheus". For any readers of Hellboy or B.P.R.D. we've only had glimpses of this amazing character. So for my first review I absolutely give two thumbs up to this new series that not only gives more depth to the character, but the world that Mike Mignola is so trying to expand this coming year. On a side note of L.J. director of both Hellboy and Hellboy: The Golden Army did not include L.J. in the second (soon to be released) film as was Mignola's wish, but does plan to include him in the third film rumored to be played by BRUCE CAMPBELL!!!
The second comic under review is a one-off story line from The Authority comic book written by John Ridley called "Human On The Inside" which in a contained and rather short fashion moves quickly, well written (in its dialogue and use of the characters), but also the art. And I just love it when it's an awesome super team up against the evil depicted U.S. government. It is definitely worth a read if you are familiar with The Authority (which you should be).

well I've written enough for this week. Again, if you have anything you want me to read - I will. Tell me, and it would also be nice to know what you think of my reviews.
feel free to e-mail me @: arhartman@gmail.com

will arnett is fo-reekay!

human giant. funny show. download it.

hidden treasures of yore

I'm sure it's no surprise that we at Pocket Full Of Horses are down right consumed by any sort of revision of nostalgic childhood media. I can safely say that Where The Wild Things is at the forefront of that category. Derek even posted a series of Spike Jonze videos recently out of pure restlessness over its' release. AND NOW, with the film still in post-production, I stumbled upon this beautiful out-of-context clip that was made purely for experimental purposes [as explained in the comments]. Let us revel in its' glory!

The moment we have all been waiting for

two new man man songs

above is a live version of big trouble from a show at emo's in austin, tx. below, an mp3 of top drawer, both are on the new album rabbit habits, out april 8th.

man man - top drawer