Tonight: Mates of State and Black Kids at the Varsity Theater

*MP3: Mates of State - "The Re-Arranger"
*MP3: Black Kids - "Listen To Your Body Tonight"

Mates of State and the Black Kids are playing at the Varsity Theater tonight. This all ages show starts at 6pm and rumor has it that it's sold out, so better get there early and hope someone has a spare.

Mates of State on MySpace
The Black Kids on MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

MFR Is Concerned About Gary Oldman

*MP3: Hold Steady - "Positive Jam"
*MP3: Hockey Night - "Grim Break"
*MP3: Interpol - "Heinrich Maneuver"
*MP3: Justin Timberlake - "Sexy Back"
*MP3: Cloud Cult - "Fairy Tale"
*MP3: Bon Iver - "Babys"
*MP3: Kanye West - "Stronger"
*MP3: Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
*MP3: Les Savy Fav - "What Would Wolves Do"
*MP3: Elliot Smith - "Needle In The Hay"
*MP3: Say Hi - "November Was White"
*MP3: Coconut Records - "West Coast"
*MP3: Animal Collective - "My Girls"
*MP3: The Strokes - "Trying Your Luck"
*MP3: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

The other night, I saw The Unborn. It was bad, just like anyone would expect. However, there was one redeeming aspect of the movie. At about the one-hour mark, Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Harry Potter, Fifth Element, JFK) appeared in the form of a liberal and free-thinking rabbi. I was absolutely pleasantly surprised; in fact, I gave my friend a wee silent cheer. Rarely there is a movie I can disagree with that features Mr. Oldman and his wonderful accent. But as the movie progressed, my mind began to wander. I began to question why Mr. Oldman would take on such a role with the knowledge that the movie would be complete crap; I am, of course, assuming that Oldman is near genius, if not a complete genius. I mean, just look at him and that mustache.

With that in mind, I think it's safe to say the Mr. Oldman took on this role merely for monetary gain, which I normally would fault an actually successful actor like Oldman for doing. But now, I'm thinking that his decision was more responsible, dare I say, economical. As you may have noticed, we are in the midst of a large-scale recession. A recession which I believed only influenced the meak, such as myself. It never dawned upon me that this recession could even take a bite out of the careers of popular actors. Well, to put it plainly, while something was happening in the movie that involved some near-dead zombie child, I was blowing my own mind with this economic riddle within a rhyme.

The fact of the matter is this: Gary Oldman is in trouble. Gary Oldman needs our help.

If I get 100 comments to this blog post, I will start garyoldmanneedsourhelp.com and will begin accepting donations on behalf of the Oldman estate.

In case gold old GO reads this, here's a mix to make him feel better.

Smooches.

MFR: Week In Review

My Sunday afternoon WIR posts are ever-evolving. This week, I thought I would post our most popular posts and tracks in the week. In case you missed the fun, here's what we've been up to:

Hot MFR Posts:
1.) MFR's Ultimate Comprehensive List of Year End Lists for 2008
2.) On The Road Mix No. 5
3.) MFR's Top Ten Best Records of 2008
4.) MFR's Top Ten List of Pitchfork's Top 100 Songs
5.) MFR's Top Ten Best Local Records of 2008

Hot MFR Tracks:
1.) *MP3: Paramore - "I Caught Myself"
2.) *MP3: Beyonce - "Single Ladies" (Put A Ring On It)
3.) *MP3: N.A.S.A. - "Whachadoin?" (Featuring M.I.A., Spankrock, Santogold, Nick Zinner)
4.) *MP3: Kings of Leon vs. Lykke Li - "Knocked Up" (Rodeo Remix)
5.) *MP3: Bon Iver - "Babys"

Mates of State Announce Tour Dates

*MP3: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"
*MP3: Mates of State - "The Re-Arranger"
*MP3: Mates of State - "Like U Crazy" (Live)

MFR's #9 Best Record of 2008 proprietors Mates of State are heading out on tour with the Black Kids in April. It's nice to see MPLS and Chicago dates.

04/02/09 Richmond, VA @ The National*
04/04/09 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club*
04/05/09 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg*
04/06/09 New York, NY @ Webster Hall*
04/07/09 Boston, MA @ House of Blues*
04/09/09 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Musee Juste Pour Rire*
04/10/09 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theatre*
04/11/09 Chicago, IL @ Metro*
04/12/09 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater*
04/13/09 Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club*
04/15/09 Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater*
04/17/09 Seattle, WA @ Neumos*
04/18/09 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom*
04/19/09 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom*
04/20/09 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent*
04/21/09 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent*
04/23/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theater*
04/24/09 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House*
04/25/09 Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse*
04/27/09 Dallas, TX @ Granada*
04/28/09 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa*
04/29/09 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live*

*=with Black Kids

Mates of State on MySpace

Mates of State - "Rearrange Us"

Mates of State - "The Re-arranger"

Mates of State have delivered what I am dubbing "The Best Record of 2008, So Far." Fully-loaded with great pop melodies, interesting arrangements and overt husband-wife references, the record picks up right where "Bring It Back" left off: a hard-working band just getting better with every release. Here is one of my many favorites off the new "Rearrange Us" (Barsuk).

Click below to pick up a copy.

Buy from Barsuk Records
Buy it on Amazon

Mates of State on MySpace


(Ian Anderson)

New Music: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

Download: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

Mates of State released a sweet new jam. It's complete with great harmonies and a really solid bridge. Check it out, let us know what you think.

Mates of State on MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

New Video: Mates of State - "Get Better"

Oh man, I love this band. The new Mates of State album "Re-Arrange Us" is due out May 20 on Barsuk Records.

Go buy their records at www.barsuk.com.

Mates of State on MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

Mates of State Cover Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy"

Download: Mates of State - "Crazy" (Cover)

This is a pretty great cover. If you listen after "I Like You Crazy," the dyno-duo break into the Gnarls Barkley cover. Pretty cute.

Mates of State on MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

This American Life! Live! Uncut!

Download: Ira Glass on "The O.C" - "This American Life"
Download: Dan Savage on "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" - "This American Life"


So National Public Radio had their spring pledge drive a little while back and, as an incentive to donate, one of the gifts was a double-disc set of a "This American Life" show from the tour that the show did earlier in the year to promote the TV version of "TAL." The double-disc is exclusive and, from my understanding, much of it was unaired (hence the incentive to donate). If you donated money at a certain hour, you got the double-disc set, no matter how much or how little you gave to NPR. Last night, the CDs finally arrived in my mailbox, and it's glorious.

I figured I'd post two MP3's from it on the site. The theme of the program was "What I learned from Television." The first MP3 is "This American Life" host Ira Glass talking about his love for "The O.C.," with Mates of States doing a version of the show's theme song (Phantom Planet's "California") at the very end. The second MP3 is of "Savage Love" writer Dan Savage talking about the effect of "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" on his son, and has Mates of States performing a cover of Nico's "These Days" (which you know from its use in The Royal Tenenbaums) at the very end.

I'm not sure if the disc set was a one time deal but, at any rate, you should click on the NPR link above and donate what you can. After all, without money, "This American Life" can't be on the air. Then what are you going to listen to? Your local morning zoo crew? Only if you want to vomit in terror.

(Jonathan Graef)