Posts by Ace Cowboy

Once again, it’s time to take a look at those end-of-year superlative lists that get people more riled up and outraged than the thought of a dogfight in Virginia. Our proud corporate papa hath spoken, so click here to see what 20 releases constitute this year’s Top 20 list (in alphabetical order, no ranking). It’s […]

Oh, we should probably remind youse not to forget about today’s Led Zeppelin reunion. The three surviving members and Bonham’s son take the stage some time after 3 pm EST today as the headlining band at the tribute to Ahmet Ertegun. You’ve got about five hours to leave a comment with your opener call, and […]

Perhaps in honor of the Pearl Harbor attacks, my colleagues and I spent the evening of December 7th singing karaoke in a private room on New York’s Lower East Side. The highlight of the rare festivities came in the form of the Diff’rent Strokes theme ensemble number, but the proudest moments of individual brilliance manifested […]

I don’t care if this sounds racist, but the following video is living proof that black people are just inherently cooler than everyone else. Tell me you wouldn’t want to hang out with The Roots all day every day more than your old pasty, custy friends. [youtube]x4H9BzJAyY4[/youtube] That’s gotta be the best “reaction” video so […]

Some genuinely crappy bands are often painted with charmingly positive adjectives and make it big on the back of the indie-music webosphere, but Sam Champion may be the exception that proves the rule. That’s expression actually makes no sense, but people say it, and when other people say things I usually just soak it in and regurgitate it later. Hey, that kinda sounds like the world wide webosphere.

But, seriously, these guys fucking rock. Great live show, great music. Plain and simple, end of story, end of days. The Brooklyn-based quartet’s second album, Heavenly Bender, is forthcoming, and today we’ve got a solid taste of what’s in store. And any track that features opportune rhythmic clapping as an instrument is given an ‘all systems go’ by me, so I’m already a big fan of the song. Throw in layers of fine guitar-work, catchy lyrics, melodies, and harmonies, and you’ve got one of their finest tunes yet. Bodes well, methinks.

• Go to RCRD LBL to download Your Party Was Yesterday

Bill Clinton often made decisions with his Little Head while in the Oval Office. But now Hillary Clinton is thinking that Big Head Todd may help her get there. Clinton has apparently dumped her much ballyhooed Celine Dion campaign song in favor of a 2005 ditty from the Colorado quartet, which is amazingly still going […]

If only every band’s fans were as devoted to compiling setlist information like this site is for Neil Young’s current tour, the world would be a better place (though, perhaps there’d be more “Kick Me” signs on backs). I guess it’s safe to say if you see Neil play this week or next, Cinnamon Girl will be the first encore.

Scotty and I are a little busy with our day jobs and pressing HT issues at the moment, so it’s time to turn to the greatest song and video from the 1980s… Shortly after Short Circuit debuted in 1986, America instantly grew infatuated with Who’s Johnny, which ostensibly became the movie’s theme song. Who’s Johnny […]

Meet Bryan Saltus, a 37-year-old American golfer currently plying his trade on the Pro Asia Tour. Saltus claimed a victory this weekend at the inaugural Cambodian Open, his first championship trophy on the Asian Tour. So what’s this got to do with the price of apples (or, say, veggie burritos)? Instead of some poor schlub […]

Organizers for the Langerado Music Festival have released the daily schedule for the sixth installment of the event, and it follows after the jump. Read on and let us know which of the three main days looks most appealing. If you ask us, and nobody ever does, Saturday looks particularly nasty…even nastier than two girls surrounding a communal cup, and we mean that in a best way possible.

This Bra-less Wonder is not Elaine Benes’ Lex Luthor, and I doubt Kramer will sue her for permanently destroying his chances at a career in golf. But it’s strange to see a woman in her skivvies on the street, and The Daily Mail agrees.

Imagine being a has-been but with loads of talent at the ripe old age of 24. We say “go for it,” veer into the skid and just do this “crazy whore” thing for at least a little while. There really is nothing worse than being boring. Shake it up.

Mostly because he’s still dead after 14 years. But we don’t hold that against him. The world at large lost Frank Zappa on this day 14 years ago — one less genius on this Earf. Zappa influenced many of the bands that ultimately spawned this website, and he remains the only musician to sit on […]

I’d call this a full weekend, with bright spots abound. I watched two friends enter the eternal bond of matrimony then walk back down the aisle to the sounds of Uncle Pen. I sat mesmerized as Andrew Bird tore up the Beacon with one of the best performances of the year (review forthcoming). I enjoyed […]

It tears us up every time we hear him drawl that Southern drawl, and we’ll have that opportunity once again: Levon Helm returns to New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 7th and 8th, about one year removed from last year’s awesomeness. Interestingly I’ll be at the Beacon this evening, in what can only be described […]

Get ready for more makeshift, mediocre, misguided Fillmores: The Wall Street Journal today published a fine feature on the world’s largest concert promoter, and it appears the current business model just ain’t generating enough capital for Live Nation. The company will now attempt to morph into a record label, memorabilia dispenser and employer of seasonal workers. Let’s see whose identity they can steal for those new growth drivers. Read on for the full story…

Get up offa that thing, and welcome my tired honkey ass home from what feels like a lifetime of traveling the wide open spaces of these United States. I’ve learned I’m way too soft for life on the road, yet my colleagues and I still negotiated eight cities in nine days over a two-week span […]

Neddy and I are off to see Andrew Bird this evening while the rest of this city hits Terminal 5 for Ween’s two-nighter…so in order to get Neddy on my good side before the show, we’re gonna pimp out another one of his efforts.

I’m letting ye olde algorithm choose the mix again this week, with the one caveat being that I’ve restricted the choices to music released or recorded during 2007. So here’s a random — literally and figuratively — mix of this year’s infinite crop of tunes, including a couple live tracks of varying sound quality. There’s even two songs performed within a day of each other, interestingly enough. Enjoy.

01 Can’t Leave Her Behind — Stephen Malkmus & Lee Ranaldo: I’m Not There
02 Welcome, Ghosts — Explosions In The Sky: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
03 All This Time — Heartless Bastards: Atlanta 9 June 2007
04 Wet and Rusting — Menomena: San Francisco 8 June 2007
05 Underwater (You and Me) — Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Some Loud Thunder
06 Firecracker — Steel Train: Daytrotter Session

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY MIX TAPE

While many in the music world obsess over the schadenfreude that is Strumpet d’Winehouse, we’ll continue to celebrate the sheer awesomeness of the Dap-Kings’ best frontlady. So we couldn’t wait to share yesterday’s now-streaming interview with the Lovely Miss Sharon Jones from her appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air with Daptone co-founder and Dap-Kings bass player […]

Somehow I find myself typing this post from a hotel room in Little Rock, Arkansas. Yeah, I’m on the road again, and this time there’s no Vegas. Work, she is a whore. At least now I can say I’ve spent a solid night in the great state that spawned two American heroes: Billy Jeff Clinton […]

The latest FIFA football rankings are out, and a scrappy Northern Ireland side has risen four places to 32nd in the world. That’s three spots ahead of the Republic of Ireland, and clearly this week, Northern Irish eyes are smiling. And pointing and laughing at the Irish, I’m sure. As someone whose borderline obsessed with […]