are we really going home?

came home yesterday afternoon to 131 unread emails. considering i'd left about 30 emails unread when i left two weeks ago, wasn't too bad. fortunately, the friends were kind enough (and civil enough) to not spam my fb wall with questionable content while i was AFK in japan. well played, friends.

so, what's new? i came home with my luggage filled to the brim. i unloaded quite a few gifties while i was out there visiting relatives and such, so on the whole, i'd like to say i came out even. but i'm certain i gained weight from nomnoms despite the insane amount of traipsing and adventuring kya-sa-rin-san and i did. more recaps to follow...

currently, what i need to get done: finish sorting the things i brought home, clean room, and catch up on emails. oh, and deciding which color combo i want for the juliet necklace by kata kouture (my dear friend rhonda makes jewelry with lego pieces). that's all for tomorrow (day off from work!).

ps. i've got another freebie friday coming up... be excited.

toronto international film fest 2009

[toronto international film festival 2009 - red carpet diaries]
keep yr eye out here on this post from sept. 10th to the 19th-- videos and interviews should update automatically. the content is produced right then and there, as they talk to the celebs, so it's pretty much like a live feed of the red carpet.

have you ever been to a film fest? i've gone to a screening at one, but have never done the whole shebang. perhaps something to look into...

are you calling me darling?

[the ting tings - that's not my name (music vid)]


the ting tings are kicking off a run of tour dates in america (opening for p!ink), NBD. there's a fly-away contest for the ting tings' upcoming performance at NY's madison square garden. to enter, just count the total number of times katie says "that’s not my name" in the video above. look, i won't tell on anyone if you google the answer or something. everyone who answers correctly is automatically entered to win, with one lucky winner earning two roundtrip tickets to NY, one night of hotel accommodations and a pair of tickets to the show!

Tour Dates:
September
15 Seattle, WA - WAMU Theater
17 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
18 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
20 Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
23 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
24 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
26 Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena
28 Fairfax, VA - The Patriot Center
30 Toronto, ONT - Air Canada Center
October
2 Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
3 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
5 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden

i hope it's gonna make you notice...

[paramore - use somebody (kings of leon cover)]

gahh.. ♥ her still. pick up paramore's new album brand new eyes in stores sept. 29th, or get your pre-orders in over here.

tonight, i'm heading out to see crash kings @ the musicbox (fonda). they're opening for david cook (idk, i think some fans of american idol might know who he is)...
xo.

then i set fire to our bed

it's no secret that i'm finally starting to have a greater appreciation for female lead singers. that turning point came along earlier this year, when i heard great northern's new album, remind me where the light is. definitely among my top albums for this year.

so here's the roundup:

- the sounds stripped (in-studio performances)-- you can watch vids for beatbox, no one sleeps when i'm awake, and a couple of interview clips all here on iheartradio.com. their october 21st, 2009 show has been moved from the greek theatre to the wiltern. tix are on sale sept. 12st, 2009. will post a link when i find one. if you haven't already, start following @thesounds for updates and random twitpics-- you won't be disappointed.

- lights tracklist for her four-song EP, out sept. 8, 2009, here. you can see february air played by an army of lights on her youtube channel. she's just so cute. jeebus.
"Saviour" Music Video

- florence + the machine first saw this video over on hatesomethingbeautiful. this one goes out to @rawrdinosaurz.

[florence + the machine - kiss with a fist music vid]

unrelated, but still relevant to my interests: WTWTA soundtrack cover and exclusive FILTER wild things cover were released this week. filter issue #37: karen o and spike jonze discover where the wild things are, is on stands sept. 11, 2009.

TOMS + trovata

third weekly installment of freebie friday: TOMS + trovata family reunion event

i know that flier is teenytiny (but you can click on it for a bigger version), so here are the deets:

when: next thursday, Sept. 10, 6-11pm
where: TOMS Headquarters
3025 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

cover: FREE

Bring your friends and come dressed as an iconic family to have your family photo taken in our classic portrait booths.
The best family portrait will receive a $1,000 shopping spree from TOMS + Trovata.

you can RSVP at on the facebook event page. they'll have the TOMS & Trovata fall/winter 2009 collection available for purchase as well!

with mics in hand, we'll stand against the test of time

[n.a.s.a. - gifted, feat. kanye west, santogold, & lykke li]

didn't realize this video was out in early '08. a little creepy astronaut...

mew mew

happy friday y'all! in keeping with the new tradition of freebie friday (dang, i hope i can keep this up), just wanted to mention something cool going on from aug. 29th (sat) to sept. 3rd (thurs).

(before we launch into our regularly scheduled programming, i would like to mention that today is the last day to enter my crash kings giveaway. email me yr name & address w/ subject line "crash kings" to emokidsbff(at)gmail(dot)com for your chance to win!)

mewseum: a six-day installation & special performance on august 31 by danish rock band mew (garnering recent buzz and fame as the opening act for nine inch nails). you can stream their album no more stories... (which was released earlier this tuesday) on myspace.

click here for the flier that has all the deets for the events. for a chance to attend the aug. 31st show, email mewseum@sonymusic.com. the show will be super tiny and they'll premiere a video trilogy for their first three album singles, including the world premiere of their videos for “repeaterbeater” and “beach.”

mewseum hours (free admission!):
August
29 Saturday from 12pm -10pm
30 Sunday from 12pm - 6pm
31 Monday from 4pm - 10pm; special performance from 7pm - 10pm
September
1 Tuesday from 4pm - 10pm
2 Wednesday from 4pm - 10pm
3 Thursday from 4pm - 10pm

located @: Zune L.A. Space on 8275 Beverly Blvd. (at Sweetzer) Los Angeles, CA

i'll see you there!

psst... moar shows:
September
1 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
2 Los Angeles, CA - Palladium (w/NIN)
3 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda (w/NIN)
4 San Francisco, CA - Independent

where the wild things are - all is love

Where the Wild Things Are Trailer


holy cow, i think i just squeed a little. the film looks sooo beautiful. i can hardly stand it!

(as a disclaimer: i don't recall WTWTA being one of my favorite books as a child-- probably i think i skipped straight from goodnight moon to something like the boxcar children, babysitters club, or sweet valley high. but i think a film like this-- with a trailer impeccably matched to arcade fire's wake up-- is exactly what our generation needs right now. it's a time to remember what it was like to be a kid and dream of otherworldly things...)

earlier today, myspace music premiered the first single off of the movie's soundtrack. karen o (of the yeah yeah yeahs) and the kids (a collaboration with an untrained children's choir) sing all is love over on the WTWTA myspace page. grab the single, which is available tomorrow, tues/aug. 25 & the soundtrack, which will be unleashed tues/sept. 29.

ps. enter my crash kings giveaway (a few posts down). you have nothing to lose!

life, or something like it

... and just like that, and just like that, it's done.

well, this week was busier than expected. i'm now partially employed x 2 jobs (though still looking for f/t job, plz and ty) + working on the light the night (LTN) team jack's mannequin stuff. if you missed out, incentives for fundraising for LTN were announced last week & we've got a guide to signing up posted here.

tomorrow, i've got work in the A.M., will step foot into bay cities for the first time w/ kitkat and baby g, then bday dinner for an old friend. i know, i know, my life is ~so~ difficult. got my katy perry tix to her show @ the palladium on saturday, the 29th. very excited. she's one of my inspirations for whatever i decide to dress as for halloween... her and lady gaga. don't ask.

xo, tgi-almost-friday.

win stuff! crash kings giveaway

freebie friday! yep, whose inner recessionista is not screaming for awesome free stuff? hmm?
crash kings is an la rock band ::gasp:: without a lead guitarist. the result is something pretty eclectic and totally rich. you can stream some more their songs over on le myspace. earlier this year, they toured with chris cornell. stamp of approval, you has it. and you all know how i feel about piano rock... really loving raincoat and my love right now.

one winner gets:
1 copy of Crash Kings' self-titled debut
1 Crash Kings USB Bracelet
1 Crash Kings Puzzle
1 band poster

email me at emokidsbff(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line "crash kings." i'll pick ONE winner at random (US residents, only) from all the entries. please include your full name and address in the body of the email. contest ends two weeks from today-- friday, aug. 28th. good luck!

[crash kings - mountain man]

he looks like he was made at ikea

he's really swedish!

[the sounds - mtv encore]

MTV Shows

here's the source/article: Encore: The Sounds Greet Fans, Share Tattoos, Conquer Los Angeles

when i first heard the newest album crossing the rubicon, i was having some trouble getting into it b/c it was less dance-y than the past two albums. but after i saw them @ the key club on july 30, it all just clicked-- the songs have a lot more depth and the lyrics are honest without being too heavy. i do recommend seeing them live, because while they sound great recorded, they are about 500000x more amazing live. there's nothing quite like a sounds show with all the hipsters, indies, and emo warped tour kids (am i missing anyone?) uniting on one dance floor. amazing.

they recently put a bunch of stuff up on their merch site. really love the white "no one sleeps when i'm awake" shirt, if y'all are in a giving mood and want to take a hint... i kid.

fall (worldwide) tour dates are up on myspace-- they're hitting the greek theatre on oct. 21. the long and short of it is that they're on tour literally for the rest of the year... total troopers!

muse - uprising - widget

thinking it's a universally accepted fact that muse cannot fail. ever.

monsters of folk

if you, like me, were mourning the end of bright eyes last month... fill yer void here. ok, so it's not just conor but w/e, deal. monsters of folk is a collaboration by (deep breath) bright eyes' conor obert & mike mogis, my morning jacket's jim james AAANDDD she & him's m. ward. ps. that last part looks so awkward, but in the name of parallelism, i'm going to keep it that way.

basically, a folkstar supergroup. and WTFBBQ only 818 myspace friends? their self-titled debut album monsters of folk is out sept. 22, 2009.

Monsters of Folk Tracklist
Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
Say Please
Whole Lotta Losin'
Temazcal
The Right Place
Baby Boomer
Man Named Truth
Goodway
Ahead of the Curve
Slow Down Jo
Losin Yo Head
Magic Marker
Map Of The World
The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
His Master’s Voice

the band recently announced fall tour dates. cool fact: M.O.F. is partnering with air traffic control, a resource for musicians' philanthropic and social change work, to donate monies raised from ticket sales. the band will be donating $1 from every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits.

October
13 Vancouver, BC- Orpheum
14 Portland, OR- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
15 Seattle, WA- Paramount Theatre
17 Oakland, CA- Fox Theater
18 Los Angeles, CA- The Greek Theater
20 San Diego, CA- Spreckels Theatre
21 Phoenix, AZ- Orpheum Theater
22 Santa Barbara, CA- Santa Barbara Bowl
28 Omaha, NE- Holland Center
29 Minneapolis, MN- Orpheum Theatre
30 Chicago, IL- Auditorium Theatre
31 Louisville, KY- Louisville Palace Theatre

November
02 Toronto, ON- Massey Hall
03 Boston, MA- The Orpheum
06 New York, NY- United Palace
08 New York, NY- Beacon Theater
09 Philadelphia, PA- Academy of Music

gimme sympathy

announcement: is back. and blogging.

i have listened to nothing but fall out boy, metric, and regina spektor for the past two months. i know, sorry if that gives you a little stomachache thinking about the combo (mostly fall out boy though, y/n? scuse my emo). needless to say, no idea what's going on in that there music world, but i will catch up soon. super behind on those emails too, so patience, plz.

a few projects i plan to undertake during my (hopefully) short stint in funemploymentland:

- writing letters. i never quite launched project snail mail '09, sorry for any letdowns.
- cleaning. room = barely habitable.
- eating good food. bay cities and a few other places with the momzers.
- planning light the night walks '09 for team jack's mannequin. things will get rolling quickly. if you haven't already signed up to walk with us, please do so here! (make sure you hit the "join team" option. we're working on getting the twitter up & running as well, you can find that here)
- traveling. japan = thundercats are go. europe = ::fingerscrossed::
- show-going. any rec's on concerts coming up?
- dvd-watching. twilight, the hills s1, gossip girl, buffy, etc.etc.
- reading. HP 1-6 can finally be unpacked, as can the sookie stackhouse/true blood novels 1-9.

basically, it's going to be a busy season. so excited!

[metric - gimme sympathy music vid]

one of my favorite songs off their album fantasies. emily haines = fierce. if you're curious as to how this whole thing was shot in one take, behind the scene of gimme sympathy is pretty cool.

no one laughs at god in a hospital

while i'm bemoaning my existence in between snerffles, please take some time to check out this important message via jax @ rockinsider:

Pablo [son of Dangerbird Records co-founder, Jeff] was diagnosed with bilateral wilms tumor- a very rare form of pediatric cancer. This led to the founding of The Pablove Foundation which donates money to the Childrens Hospital LA. Sadly this past Saturday June 27th, 2009 Pablo passed away. He was 6 years old.

the benefit show is at the echo tomorrow, july 1st. doors @ 8pm. performances by: eulogies, bad veins, avi buffalo, a decent animal. more info & relevant links here. pablo's story has been chronicled by his family here. please take some time to check out his story & donate to the pablove foundation.
for lighter fare...

[regina spektor - laughing with (music vid)]

the song is definitely one of my top picks for the album far. the beginning of the video is sort of escher-esque, is it not?

[cobra starship - good girls go bad (feat. leighton meester]

Cobra Starship |MTV Music

blair >>> serena. i love leighton!

cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in

went to see third eye blind with julian @ the hollywood palladium last night. it was seriously like being back in 1999; clearly i'd missed out on being cool in high school (i had a thing for backstreet boys, DON'TJUDGEME), so re-living a better version of it was a lot of fun. i'd forgotten how joyous it is to watch the floor jump up in down in unison to songs like jumper and semi-charmed kind of life. the new songs they previewed were pretty consistent and catchy. won my tickets from http://laist.com/ so a big shout out to them!

been superrrr busy studying so i've been behind on my music updates (obvi). been listening to a lot of KCRW b/c my cassette player in my car (i know, how quaint) has decided he and my cassette adapter (that i hook up to my ipod) are on the outs. wish they would make up again but i have a feeling this time the break-up was for good. waiting for my itrip that i ordered to get here soon.

otherwise, i've been weirdly getting into a whole female lead singers phase. a whole lot of maria taylor, for sure. just ordered some CDs on amazon a few days ago, so i'm excited to (finally) get the sounds' album crossing the rubicon, phoenix's album wolfgang amadeus phoenix, and regina spektor's far.

that's about it with my life. i'm really loving the santa monica public library-- there is so much good stuff lurking around in there... though it's all off-limits to me till end of july. till then, xox.

shake the glitter off your clothes now

[katy perry - waking up in vegas music vid]

Waking Up In Vegas

i'm not sold on the lip-syncing at all... but the costumes are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! plus the dude from bones is in it. i can't find his name... if anyone would like to suggest it. thanks.

you've gotta swim

[jack's mannequin - swim music vid]

Jack's Mannequin |MTV Music

man, i miss this. the brighter days.

no "kids" were harmed during the making of this video

[mgmt - kids (music vid)]



as one friend tweeted, "i don't know if i love the new mgmt video or i have a giant "wtf" sign over my head."