After being in an intolerable living situation for better than a year, I've finally gotten rid of the worst roommate I've ever had, and it feels great. I may rant more later, but for now, joy!

Deerhoof's new record Friend Opportunity scores an 8.9 at Pitchfork today. I'm with them, I think this record is excellent and one of my favorite releases of the new year. I'm also seeing them on Friday at Irving plaza, which I'm pretty pumped about. Check out a track here.

Speaking of Kill Rock Stars, I've been giving a lot of spins to Marnie Stern's new record, In Advance of the Broken Arm. I'm digging it very much, it's super poppy math rock. So catchy. She's playing February 3rd with Japanther at High Places in Brooklyn, before her February 14th record release party at Cakeshop. I'm hoping to catch both shows. Pitchfork diggs her too, and they've posted one of my favorite tracks here.

After all the love it received in year end lists, I finally checked out Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury. I must say that I like it. But there's really one standout track that I can't stop digging, Mr. Me Too featuring Pharrell. The beat in that song is ice cold. You can watch and download the video at prefix mag.

I've been digging on Ryan Adam's latest project, Sad Dracula, quite a bit. The album's called Fasterpiece, and it's a straightforward, rocking affair. Rock in that typical Ryan Adam's way that's made him a lot of fans.

I discovered that insound has Arcade Fire's 7" of Cold Wind and Brazil in stock, and promptly bought one. It's a pretty, clear vinyl that sounds amazing. I'm still really excited for Neon Bible, hopefully I'll get to hear it soon. In the meantime, I very much enjoyed the clip of them playing at a high school. Pitchfork is to thank for this, though you can watch it here.



Lastly, I don't often write about movies, but recently I saw Pan's Labyrinth, and it's the best movie I've seen in some time: set at the end of the Spanish civil war, the film is told through the eyes of young girl who escapes from her harsh realities in fantasy. Surreal and visually stunning, it's also extremely intense and at times shockingly graphic. After I saw it I couldn't really speak for a while; I couldn't stop thinking about the terrible war reality depicted in the film, and how my country has created something even worse in Iraq.

Labels: Arcade Fire, Deerhoof, Marnie Stern