Conor Oberst Plays Obama Rally

He told the crowd, "I met the next president of the United States earlier today."

2008

Well it's here. The new year.  2008. January seems like the longest month of the year, maybe because it's absolutely freezing here. I have decided to make a list of things to come in 2008 to get me past the freezing days of January. Up first, movies in 2008 that are going to be awesome:

'Where The Wild Things Are' - Spike Jonze's adaptation of one of my favorite children's books.  

'Be Kind Rewind' - Jack Black and Mos Def save their video rental business by creating their own versions of famous movies. Michel Gondry directs.

'The Other Boleyn Girl' -Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson star in this period piece about the Boleyn sisters competing for Henry VIII. Watch the Trailer here.

'Choke' -Chuck Palahniuk's book is being turned into a film starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Houston.

'Burn After Reading' -New Cohen brothers' movie about two gym owners (Pitt and Clooney) who find a CIA memoir  belonging to John Malcovich, and they try to blackmail him.

'Iron Man' -Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man! Trailer here.

'The Dark Knight' -Batman is back and this time Heath Ledger is the Joker and Maggie Gyllenhaal takes the place of Katie Homes. Trailer here.

'Australia' -Baz Lurhmans new movie about WWII. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman star in a story of World War II in Australia.

'Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' - Harrison Ford is back, and Shia LaBeouf is his new sidekick.

 
Albums coming out in January

Chris Walla - 'Field Manual'

Magnetic Fields - 'Distortion'

Sia - 'Some People Have Real Problems'

Kate Nash - 'Made Of Grace'

Black Mountain - 'In The Future'

Cat Power - 'Jukebox'

Vampire Weekend - Self Titled

Mars Volta - 'Bedlam In Goliath'

Girl Talk - TBD 

Other Albums to look forward to in 2008:

• 'Hot Chip'
• 'Wolf Parade'
• 'Weezer'
• 'Colin Meloy'
• 'Crystal Castles'
• 'Death Cab For Cutie'
• 'Mates of State'
• 'My Morning Jacket'
• 'Raconteurs'
• 'REM'
• 'Amanda Palmer'
• 'The Cure'
• 'Los Campesinos'
• 'Breeders'
• 'Destroyer'
• 'Ladytron' and many, many more...

A Very Daily Indie Christmas

My friends and I just got together to film our Christmas episode. Music from Badly Drawn Boy, The Shins and Death Cab for Cutie.

Watch it here. Happy Holidays! See you in 2008!

Heart, Christy

Holiday Charity Album Featuring Indie Favorites

Chris Walla, The Long Winters and more on this holiday compilation. All the money goes to Toys for Tots! Order here. 

UK Songbirds Boycott KFC

 
Natasha Kahn of Bat For Lashes and others are joining Peta 2's campaign. Read more here.

My Top Albums of 2007!

This is the hardest part of December, trying to make some sense out of all the good music that has kept me company in 2007. There are albums that I listened to and liked that didn’t make my list -- because either I thought it was too overplayed (Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin) or the album felt disappointing (Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight). Everyone does a top 40 or 50, so I decided to do a top 35! Below are my top 35 albums of the year, up first my top 5:

1. LCD Soundsystem - 'Sounds Of Silver' - On James Murphy’s second album his ideas are more realized, he’s injected more emotion and the lyrics have improved. It’s like he took the first album and improved upon every aspect. Also one of the most fun live shows of the year.

2. The National - 'Boxer' - Intimate and smart lyrics from a band who has figured out their perfect indie rock formula. And, lead singer Matt Beringer wins the award for best male vocalist!

3. Justice - '+' - French electro-dance pop! You’ve heard their single D.A.N.C.E. hundreds of times, but the brilliance of the band lies in the rest of their debut album. Hipster dance party anyone?

4. Feist - 'The Reminder' - One of the most beautiful voices of the year! I know that everyone’s sick of her iPod commercial, I stand by my A+ rating.

5. Talib Kweli/Madlib - 'Liberation' - One of the best collaborations of 2007, two hip hop icons working together for the first time. Originally released for free online, the album is now available in stores.

6. Beirut - 'The Flying Club Cup'
7. Born In The Flood - 'If This Thing Should Spill'
8. Battles - 'Mirrored'
9. Menomena - 'Friend and Foe'
10. M.I.A. - 'Kala'
11. Arcade Fire - 'Neon Bible'
12. K-OS- Atlantis - 'Hymns For Disco'
13. St. Vincent - 'Marry Me'
14. Okkervil River - 'The Stage Names'
15. Black Lips - 'Good Bad Not Evil'
16. Muscles - 'Guns Babes Lemonade'
17. Kanye West - 'Graduation'
18. The New Pornographers - 'Challengers'
19. Of Montreal - 'Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?'
20. Spoon - 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga'
21. Andrew Bird - 'Armchair Apocrypha'
22. Panda Bear - 'Person Pitch'
23. Jay-Z - 'American Gangster'
24. Jesca Hoop - 'Kismet'
25. El-P - 'I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead'
26. Dirty Projectors - 'Rise Above'
27. Elliott Smith - 'New Moon'
28. Tegan and Sara - 'The Con'
29. Dinosaur Jr. - 'Beyond'
30. Radiohead - 'In Rainbows'
31. Kate Nash - 'Made of Bricks'
32. !!! - 'Myth Takes'
33. Bloc Party - "A Weekend In The City"
34. Calvin Harris - 'I Created Disco'
35. The Go! Team - 'Proof Of Youth'

Still to come, best indie videos of 2007 and the best concerts of 2007!

Current Obsession

Soko and her song “I Will Never Love You More”.

Soku is a French singer and actress.  She doesn't have a record label, but she does have an EP that you can get at the itunes store called 'Not SoKute'.

Her music has been very popular in Denmark, as well as Australia, Stella McCartney used her music in a fashion show in Paris this fall, and it’s only a matter of time before she becomes popular in the states.

Here is her myspace. Take a listen.

Hope you are having a good day. Heart.

Batman Trailer

The new 'Batman' trailer is online. Heath Ledger as the joker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. Watch the trailer here. Who will be a better Joker - Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson?

Nirvana Unplugged DVD

There is a moment in the Nirvana Unplugged DVD where Curt Kobain is spinning in a desk chair back and forth, like a little kid in a sweater that’s a size too big. It’s an image I’ve never associated with him—I usually picture a morose figure hunched over with clear blue eyes. And, this is just one of the many moments in the DVD that changed my perspective of the band that I thought I remembered.

While I was watching the un-edited long version, I noticed an interesting level of tension between the MTV producers and Cobain. This was 14 years ago, imagine what he would say about MTV now. But he makes a couple of sarcastic jokes at their expense and the audience laughs with him. He didn’t play a lot of hits as MTV wished, or bring a slew of famous guests on stage (he only invited The Meat Puppets), but this unplugged special is still one of the most important pieces of music history. It was filmed 4 months prior to Cobain’s suicide, and captures the band at a delicate peak of fame and maybe a bit of desired anonymity.

The DVD includes the shortened broadcast version as well as the entire set list version. It also includes bonus interviews and rehearsals. Oh, and Dave Grohl looks sooo young, I always think of him as the bearded Foo Fighter I liked in highschool, but here he is clean shaven with a 90's low ponytail.

Anyways, this is a good holiday gift for Nirvana fans or music buffs. Nothing like a Nirvana special to bring  the whole family together this holiday season. I will tell you that this DVD made me realize how much I miss 'Unplugged', I miss watching it and recording it on a crappy VHS tape. Why are there no MTV 'Unplugged' specials anymore?! I mean 'The Hills' is good and all, but MTV I miss 'Unplugged'.

Val Kilmer's Album

Val Kilmer is looking for a label to release his album, Val Kilmer:Sessions With Mick. Mick Rossi is his bandmate on the project--playing keyboards and drums. Read more here. This is just a rumor at this point, but rumor enough for me to countdown my top 5 favorite Kilmer movies with Hitlist fervor.

Your Friend,

Christy

#5 True Romance - Umm...he plays Elvis. Enough said.

#4 Top Gun - The Ice Man.

#3 The Doors - This was the first R rated movie my mom ever let me watch. Apparently, because it was Jim Morrison, all explicit sex scenes were acceptable.

#2 Willow - My first movie star crush was Val Kilmer in Willow. I don't know why, but I remember thinking he was awesome.

#1 Real Genius - This is in my top ten favorite movies of all time. Val Kilmers' character, Chris Knight, forever influenced my notions of the perfect man. Chris Knight and Lloyd Dobbler from Say Anything--thanks for skewing my perceptions. Good work.