My brain can’t handle the bouncing thoughts anymore.

Music
I’ve recently re-come-upon 8-bit music (originally mentioned by my brother, Evan) and gone so far as to download Little Sound DJ and a Gameboy emulator to start some jams. Stupid learning curve. Anyway, a free EP from David Sugar can be procured from the 8-bit peoples web site here. Also, Animanaguchi has free music also available from the peoples here. It might be a little odd for your tastes but hey, it’s free.

Also on my listening radar thanks to music historian, Joseph Henderson, is the gut funny song “What You’re Into” (video link) from Flight of the Concords, provided for you via the glorious convenience of the internet. To repeat myself on purpose: go listen to radio campaign. It’s worth your time.

Another notable free music download is Harvery Danger’s third album, “Little by Little”.

Film
In case you haven’t noticed, my tidbits mostly consist of me stealing noteworthy items from other people and recycling them to you as “new” ideas. Today I’m stealing from my friend, Joshua Blankenship, who apparently spends his entire day trolling the internet and posting things on his blog. How he transformed that into a career I will forever wonder and envy. Anyway…

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Looks like a dang sweet documentary(/comedy?) on none other than two nerds vying for the high score in Donkey Kong. What more can film give us?

Heima. Another documentary (sorry to be so educational and informative) on the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. The trailer is pretty much the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen on film. It could very well just be a really long music video … but it would be the most beautiful music video you’ve ever seen.

I have decided to create a new word-that-means-recurring-section-of-a-published-periodical-i.e.-magazine (blatantly stolen from Wired … hopefully I’ll come up with an original title soon):
Playlist

1. Sleep (Random) - I just got up from the best nap I’ve had in months, maybe even years. The kind where every semi-conscious breath feels like a loving squeeze that draws your weighted body deeper into the cushions of your bed … I can’t remember why I got up to write this anymore.

2. Battlestar Galactica (TV) - I am halfway through season two and I am in 100% agreement with my brother, Evan, who says “it’s one of the best written shows on television right now”. During one of the last episodes, I was easily the most anxious I have ever been for welfare of any character I’ve watched on any screen. Anxious to the point of squeezing my wife, smacking my leg, and purposefully and repeatedly verbalizing my internal “oh no, oh no, oh no”. The show has a similar draw to LOST, where the “good guys” exhibit serious flaws and the “bad guys” can be benevolent and gracious. Such tantalizing moral ambiguity reigns me in every time. For those of you concerned about being sucked into another small screen narrative, don’t fret. This coming season (premieres November 24) is the fourth and last. I mean, how long can it take you to watch four seasons of television?

3. Hot Fuzz (Film) - I enjoyed the film “Shaun of the Dead” so when I heard that the writing duo of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were back for a police romp I mentally dropped it on my “interested” list. I finally saw it on Friday and, let me tell you, it’s good. Before you go running out to rent it let me warn you that there is a lot of gore, violence (often to the elderly), and expletives. Not to discount their power, but my wife, who abhors equally each form of immorality, laughed pretty darn hard. I won’t bore you by telling you why it’s funny but temper your enthusiasm with three advicicles (my brainless colloquialism for “piece of advice”, rhymes with “ad-bicycle”): 1) at 120 minutes it’s long, 2) it has so many chances to end that it starts to feel a little like Wayne’s World by the time the credits roll, and 3) if you’re a Scrubs fan, try to keep in mind that everything is actually happening and not being imagined.

4. radiocampaign (Music) - While I have had the time and opportunity to digest the music of dozens of unsigned bands in the past weeks, my most insightful recommendations of new tunes have come from an old friend: Joseph Henderson. Affectionately known as “Jose” during his stay at Anderson (then) College, he has recently taken his encyclopedic music knowledge to the web in the form of a podcast. Easily located by searching for “joseph henderson” in the iTunes store his deep baritone walks you through a world of artists “straddling the fence” between indie and mainstream. Subscribe, you won’t regret it.

Also, don’t forget to come out and see the band on August 17th in Anderson (SC), August 23rd in Columbia (SC), and September 17th in Athens (GA). Don’t forget to download the free EP and watch our videos in the mean time.