If you’ve tuned into MTV over the past week or so, you’ve probably noticed in between seemingly marathon episodes of The Hills that the network has been airing brief promos featuring Vampire Weekend (including one where frontman Ezra Koenig confesses his hatred of Spencer Pratt). Obviously the talented band had plenty of buzz without being co-opted by MTV, so it’s awesome to see a longer spot featured on the network where the guys humbly and entertainingly promote safe sex rather than themselves. Although it may be easier to imagine the Columbia-educated band fighting werewolves rather than riding a city bus, the clip is amusing and contains more prophylactic slang than a Diablo Cody spec script!
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Did you know that the song “Thriller” was originally titled “Starlight?” Seriously. To celebrate today’s release of Thriller 25 (the expanded anniversary version of the nine-song original), the Los Angeles Times has compiled a list of 25 Thriller fun facts. Another interesting fact? Hypeful would’ve preferred hearing a zombie over Fergie on the new disc’s version of “Beat It.” Oh well, how about Ben Gibbard covering “Starlight” “Thriller” instead? Also, check out the full list of Thriller fun facts after the jump!
Happy Groundhog Day 2008 - woah, wait…six more weeks of winter?!? There is no way this winter is ever going to end as long as that groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any way out of it. He’s got to be stopped…
The Juno soundtrack has certainly increased Moldy Peaches’ fame in the U.S. (and scored them gigs on The View!), but a toothpaste ad has made the anti-folk duo stars in South America. A Pepsodent ad featured the band’s song “Jorge Regula” without their permission. Although it was getting the Peaches heavy play on radio and TV in South America, Adam Green told NME, “The only reason we found out about the commercial was we started winning awards for best commercial of the year in Argentina.” It’s a pity that the toothpaste company didn’t give the duo a proper opportunity to sell out - Hypeful would love to see an ad featuring “Who’s Got the Crack?” Check out the ad below.
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Here’s a great way to put together a fake band and album in less time than it used to take Lou Pearlman! Here are the 3 easy steps:
1. The first article title on this page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quote on this page is the title of your album.
3. The third picture (no matter what it is!) on this page will be your album cover.
Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for fake rehab! My resulting fake band is Castries and the fake debut album is entitled Of Luck Or Merit (taken from The Talmud’s quote, “Never expose yourself unnecessarily to danger; a miracle may not save you…and if it does, it will be deducted from your share of luck or merit.”). Additionally, I couldn’t be happier with the cover art. Check it out and post your fake band/album info in the comments! (Thanks to Okay City for the heads up and dustbury for creating the meme!)
The Democratic and Republican caucuses are going down tonight in Iowa, so I thought a couple of voting-themed tracks would be apropos today. If you happen to live in Iowa, definitely go out and exercise your democratic right by casting a ballot. The opportunity to vote without having to deal with Ryan Seacrest is always a beautiful thing.
MP3s:
Death Cab For Cutie - “We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes (Title Track)”
Sunset Rubdown - “They Took A Vote And Said No”
To celebrate the premiere of Sufjan Stevens The BQE, Asthmatic Kitty has added four accompanying informational pieces to their site including a BQE Who’s Who, Elizbeth Meister on the official bird of the BQE (i.e., the house sparrow), an essay by Soof comparing the hula hoop with the BQE, and a detailed list of the highway’s detritus. With all of these BQE extras, you almost forget there’s a 30-minute symphony at the center of this project.
MP3s:
Sufjan Stevens - “The BQE [Part 3]”
Sufjan Stevens - “The BQE [Part 6]”
Just in time for Halloween, Spinner counts down the 20 craziest costumed acts who recognize that sometimes what you wear is just as important as how you sound.
Better luck on making the list next year, chain mail-clad Ryan Adams…although your metal-inspired garb is likely to haunt our dreams well through Halloween.
With a clever marketing scheme and DRM-free tracks, it’s hard to complain about Radiohead’s digital offering of In Rainbows. Unfortunately, if you’re an obsessive-compulsive iTunes organizer like myself, the lack of included cover art on Rainbows‘ digital tracks was disappointing. While waiting for artist Stanley Donwood to reveal the album’s final cover, fans have taken it upon themselves to design some really nice artwork for their iTunes placeholders. You should be able to find a suitable cover to use in this batch until the final art is revealed.
In what was certainly no easy task, New York Magazine has compiled the Ten Most Incomprehensible Interviews of All Time from rock and roll’s most iconic absurdist - Mr. Bob Dylan! Including synopses and videos of each interview, it’s an awesome look back at Dylan confounding reporters since 1961.
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MP3s are for sampling purposes only. If you like what you hear, please support the artist by buying albums, attending shows, and spreading the word about them. If you have a complaint about a track's ownership, please contact Hypeful and I will remove it immediately. You may also contact me about artists, albums, etc. you would like to see featured on Hypeful.
