I know i’m psyched about the R. Kelly trial beginning today.  Following in the footsteps of a certain blog, the Chicago Tribune is throwing everyone a bone and liveblogging the entire trial.  I know what i’m doing today.  Kells, i hope your game is tight.

(Tribune link from Idolator)

File protection has always been one of our major concerns over here, as many of our friends in the blog-o-sphere well know.

Trolling through our archive of old copies of USA Today we happening upon this article from 2001.

We always thought BMG was on the right track at that point:

"… sales of blank CDs now exceed prerecorded CDs suggests that there is a problem that needs to be addressed," says Sami Valkonen of BMG Entertainment, which distributes albums by such stars as Christina Aguilera and ‘N Sync.

BMG has hired three firms to test technology that will prevent CD listeners from saving songs to their hard drives and sharing them online at Napster successors such as Morpheus and Bearshare. Instead, purchasers will be directed to Web sites from which they can download copy-protected music that can be moved to portable devices and CDs, but not shared online. BMG will try the system later this year."

In our continual quest to keep our industry alive and subvert the masses of old school disc rippers and burners, decentralized file sharing, P2P sites, darknet file sharing networks, Beggars is proud to add to our stable of music protection techniques our newest un-rippable format.

Our boy John Darnielle gave Aesop Rock a track of the recently released and fantastic Mountain Goats’ album Heretic Pride and the results are in and available for you listening pleasure

"Lovecraft in Brooklyn" Aesop Rock remix

As an added bonus, the lovely folks at Sketch Theatre took our already inspired pairing and subsequntly paired them with Southern California based illustrator/artist Nate Frizell to create a great video for the track.

"Lovecraft in Brooklyn" remix (in)ink

Check out Nate’s Website for more info

Aesop weighs in on the project over on the Def Jux site:

i did a remix for the song "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" off of the new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride. I also rap on said remix. Then a group called "Sketch Theatre" offered to take part in making a video for said remix, and the awesome Nate Frizzell offered up his skills behind a pencil. It came out dope, and it all comes out today. you can see the video, OR download the song.

Now we’re just hoping to get John on the Aesop Rock / Dizzee RAscal tour steaming across the land. Dare to Dream!

The band just launched their Dót widget, which from what we understand is gonna be your #1 source for banjo videos outside of tour buses and clips from the band’s annual Extreme Lamb Face Sushi Eating Championships in Kirkjubaejarklaustar.  To kick it off, here’s a clip of the band in the studio yesterday doing what many would assume is finishing their album.  Click on the big arrow below to watch.

Yeah right. Check out the electro-funkin’ jams right here

Don’t forgot that the guys are supporting M.I.A. right now

5/08     Detroit, MI               The Fillmore Detroit        
5/09     Chicago, IL             Aragon Ballroom          
5/10     Columbus, OH       Newport Music Hall      
6/02     Toronto ON            Sound Academy             
6/03     Montreal, QUE       Metroplois                    
6/05     Philadelphia, PA   33rd Street Amory          
6/06     Brooklyn, NY           McCarren Pool         

For a fuller tour schedule you might want to visit Holy Fuck Music

Hey Nashville!

This Saturday, May 3rd, Jeffrey Lewis will be playing a free in-store at Grimey’s at Beer:30…for the unititiated, that means 4:30pm. 

p.s. there will be beer there.

p.p.s you have to be 21 to drink it.

p.p.p.s. there are no age requirements to see jeffrey play.

With the wealth of metaphors that could be used to describe London/Paris based potty-mouthed rockers The Teenagers, we should be able to come up with a better subject line for this post but we thought we’d rather stick to the facts.

Fact #1 - The Teenagers are on tour right now.  They will be in New York in mere days and performing at the following shows.

                5/3 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY

             5/5 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

Plus afterparties

Fact #2 - The Teenagers are playing an in-store @ AMERICAN APPAREL in Brooklyn this weekend.

Sunday, May 4th
3PM
 
Location:
American Apparel
314 Flatbush Ave.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
(Q or B Express to 7th Ave.)

Fact #3 - Hasselhoff just can’t get enough of that dirty stuff.

Fact #4 - These only cost 12 bucks, so why not really

The first song we’re unleashing off Chemical Chords is called "Three Women".   It’s a lively jam with an almost four-on-the-floor backbeat, slinky guitar work and those big signature organ (er-hummm) chords, so we can almost hear you all rejoicing, "The Groop Is Back!"  For those of you who take your music in our preferred "paid-for format", the digital single is up on iTunes.

MP3:   Three Women

Pre-order Chemical Chords already.