Slap Chop Remix

A co-worker of mine just sent me this video for the Slap Chop Remix (you know, the one with the Shamwow guy before the hooker incident).

Not only do I think this video is hilarious, but I kind of want one...

ACL 2009 Lineup Released!

The 2009 ACL lineup was released at midnight last night! Even though I already knew about 15% of the bands on this list, I am still pretty happy with the ones I didn't know were coming. By that I mean; Phoenix, White Lies, Toadies, Arctic Monkeys, Airborne Toxic Event, Grizzly Bear, The Knux, John Legend (who I knew was coming but am very excited for) and a few more.

Although, I do have to say that I very much expected the Yeah Yeah Yeah's to play, and the fact that they aren't is a huge disappointment.

I would give this lineup a B+ with potential for an A based on what the schedule looks like. I do think that it is worth the cost of a three-day pass, but I am not exactly excited about the main 5 (headliners). Hopefully there won't be as many scheduling conflicts as usual; that would really piss me off. When you have a lineup like this all you need to do is spread out the acts and keep it simple, stupid.

Let's hope they take my advice.

On another note; everyone (radio, other forms of media) is referring to this years festival as "The best ACL lineup ever". I would just like to point out how absolutely incorrect this statement is. I mean, check out the 2005 lineup and tell me which is better. Then remember that a 3-day pass in 2005 was about $90, and that I got mine for $35 at an "early bird" ticket sale at Texadelphia.

As a word of advice to concertgoers who already have a 3-day pass and are not excited about the lineup: Go see bands like Pearl Jam, John Legend, Beastie Boys, and others that have (normally) expensive ticket prices to see them on their own. This way you will at least make the cost of your three-day pass worth it.

Or just wait till August and sell it on Craigslist. I guarantee you will get at least $200 for it!

Here is the lineup for the 2009 ACL Festival:

Pearl Jam
Dave Matthews Band
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Ben Harper and Relentless7
Thievery Corporation
John Legend
The Dead Weather
The Levon Helm Band
Ghostland Observatory
Sonic Youth
Mos Def
Toadies
Flogging Molly
The B-52s
Lily Allen
Citizen Cope
Arctic Monkeys
The Decemberists
Coheed and Cambria
Andrew Bird
Girl Talk
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Phoenix
Bassnectar
Bon Iver
!!!
The Avett Brothers
The Airborne Toxic Event
Medeski, Martin & Wood
Clutch
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Grizzly Bear
Heartless Bastards
Passion Pit
White Lies
Dan Auerbach
The Walkmen
The Scabs
Reckless Kelly
Devotchka
Blitzen Trapper
The Virgins
Here We Go Magic
Eek-A-Mouse
K’ Naan
Asleep at the Wheel
Dr. Dog
The Raveonettes
The Knux
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
State Radio
Los Amigos Invisibles
The Felice Brothers
Federico Aubele
Raul Malo
Daniel Johnston
Poi Dog Pondering
Brett Dennen
Rodriguez
Henry Butler
Preservation Hall
Sam Roberts Band
The Greencards
Sara Watkins
Walter “Wolfman” Washington
David Garza
John Vanderslice
Zac Brown Band
Todd Snider
School of Seven Bells
The Dodos
Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
Alberta Cross
Deer Tick
Bell X1
Alela Diane
The Wood Brothers
The Parlor Mob
Rebirth Brass Band
Marva Wright
Terri Hendrix
L.A.X.
Lisa Hannigan
The Low Anthem
Sons of Bill
Suckers
Sarah Jaffe
Cotton Jones
The Henry Clay People
Papa Mali
Jypsi
Vince Mira
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern
Lights
Mimicking Birds
Jeffrey Steele
Jonell Mosser
Leatherbag
Keith Gattis
Damien Horne
Sarah Siskind
Dexateens
Nelo
Danny Brooks
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
The Soul Stirrers
The Durdens
Palm School Elementary
The Gospel Silvertones
Diaconos
Quinn Sullivan
Ralph’s World
Q Brothers
Milkshake
Telephone Company
Loose Cannons
Lunch Money

ACL Confirmed Artist Postcards

I am sure by now everyone knows who the ACL headliners will be, and if not they are: Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Beastie Boys, Dave Matthews Band, and Ghostland Observatory.

What some of you might not have seen are the "confirmed artist" postcards that are floating around. I know some of them were posted on the ACL website for a short period of time, but I just wanted to post them here since they have been taken down.

Note that each card has a date stamp on the front that represents what day of the festival that band will be playing on.




The dark orange card represents Thievery Corporation on 10/2.
The dark blue card represents Mos Def on 10/2.
The red card represents John Legend on 10/3.
The light orange card represents the B-52's on 10/4.
The yellow card represents Pearl Jam on 10/4 (the major headliner).
The light blue card represents Sonic Youth on 10/4.

Lollapalooza 2009 Lineup Announced!

The Lollapalooza 2009 lineup has been released! From what I have seen so far, it looks like it will probably be the best festival this year* (competing with Bonnaroo and Coachella). I am not a fan of Depeche Mode, so my biggest problem with the lineup is that they are the major headliner. Other than that, I absolutely love about 85% of the bands listed here. I really hope they don't have scheduling problems, but with this many amazing bands, I don't see a way around it.

This festival is definitely worth the cost of a 3-day pass!

Don't take my word for it; check out the lineup listed below:

Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane’s Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2
Passion Pit
Bassnectar

DJ Sets:
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
Kid Cudi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair
The Bloody Beetroots
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective

Here is the Lollapalooza mashup video by Car Stereo (Wars):



*Both Bonnaroo and Coachella have higher ticket prices for 3-day passes. Because of this, they get a lower rating compared to a festival with somewhat equal bands and a lower ticket price.

How To Stop The Rain On Friday: Phoenix

It is pouring today. On my FRIDAY!

Not only that, but it is supposed to pour all weekend and I have a lot of driving to do.

However, the only thing I can think about is Phoenix.

Since I read about their new tour on Ultra8201, which doesn't feature any Texas stops, and watched their new video for Lisztomania about 100 times I can't get them out of my head!

Back at the 2006 ACL Festival; I remember splitting my time in the early afternoon between Phoenix and Ghostland Observatory. Both were amazing and relatively unknown...but look at them now - Ghostland is headlining and I am REALLY hoping that Phoenix is back as well.

If you haven't heard of them, or haven't thought about them in a while; now is your chance to get back in the game. Everyone I talk to brings this band up in conversation, and they are finally getting a lot of the respect/recognition they deserve.

I agree with Ultra8201 in thinking that they will be performing at ACL this year. At least I hope so...

And to forget about the rain a bit, I have added the videos from their most recent SNL performance playing two of my favorite new songs "Lisztomania" and "1901". The new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix comes out May 26th!

Just in time for my birthday!

Presale Passwords

I am always going to concerts and usually I have some kind of way of easily accessing the presale/discount codes to make sure I get better tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Today, finding those codes just got a little easier.

Sure, a simple google search is usually all you need, but these are all in one location and all seem to be accurate.

If you are in need of a presale code, check out freepresaleinfo. I really needed a code for the U2 360 concert in Houston, and all the other places I normally check didn't have the correct codes and links. Plus, the show was already sold out in Dallas and tickets don't even go on sale to the general public until Monday!

Just thought I would give this site some props for saving the day.

Coachella 2009 Set Times Revealed

Let me just say this: for any festival there will be time conflicts between bands. Hopefully the organizers will work around it and have the fewest conflicts as possible, and the bands that are conflicting are somewhat different types of music.

Coachella 2009 really looks like the set times are (mostly) thought out well, and the number of band conflicts will be low*. This is the first time in a while that I can say this.

Well done, Coachella.

*I see the most conflicts on Friday, a few on Saturday, and the least on Sunday.

San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival 2009

The Outside Lands Festival has released their lineup for their 2009 festival! (Click the poster above for lineup) I actually think the lineup is pretty good, but it comes with a pretty steep pricetag, which is why I would give it a slightly lower rating.

Also, I am NOT excited about the headliners for festivals this year - It looks like Pearl Jam and Beastie Boys are trying to play (pretty much) every festival they can this year...Not sure if that is good or bad.

This will be the year of middle tier bands, and that is fine, but no one likes to pay big pricetags like this for middle-tier. Not that it isn't worth it, but mentally it is hard to get around the fact that you are paying a few hundred bucks and not getting better headliners.

You can find ticket information here. The VISA pre-sale begins April 15th at 10am (PST), and the regular ticket sale begins on April 19th at 10am (PST). Three-day passes start at $199.50, then go to $225.50 and the third tier is still TBD.

The Festival takes place August 28-30 in Golden Gate Park.

Arjewtino: July 2006 - April 2009

It is a very sad day in the blogging world.

The one blog* that kept me entertained at my first job out of college (and in my current job since), and that very much inspired me to start my own blog, has officially been retired.

For those of you who know me, you have probably heard me talk about a hilarious Jew that hails from Argentina that loves the Dodgers, is an amazing writer, and tells THE BEST stories that I have ever read. For those of you that simply read my blog from time to time, you have seen his name at the top of my blogroll since day 1, and maybe have read a comment or two from him as well.

That person was Iván, more commonly known as Arjewtino. Without him, Procrastination at its Finest would never have existed, and now Arjewtino's blog is done.

Strangely, I feel very saddened knowing that he will no longer be sharing his somewhat ridiculous stories with us anymore. I don't even know this person, but for so long his blog was my absolute first choice when I was needing something to help me procrastinate and I honestly didn't expect him to retire anytime soon.

Also, one of the biggest goals I had for my blog was to end up on his blogroll...and I know that it is no longer possible.

I hope that over the years you have stumbled across his blog from mine and enjoyed his stories as much as I have. If you haven't, make sure to check them out as soon as you can (I am not sure if he is keeping his domain open), and let him know how great of a writer he is.

Or tell him that you saw him in Sports Illustrated.

Arjewtino; You will be missed! Thank you for sharing your stories over the years and giving some of us the inspiration to do the same.

This is his final Washingtonian interview.

*Even though I did read other blogs during this time, Arjewtino's is the only one who is credited as always providing me with quality entertainment on a daily basis.

That's Pretty Cool...Even For Us Non-Star Trek Fans

I absolutely love living in Austin! Whether it is for the music, movies (aka Alamo Drafthouse), the scenery, people, 6th street, or the Longhorns; Austin just can't be beat.

Every person I know who has left Austin either is doing everything they can to get back to this city as fast as possible, or they are crying themselves to sleep at night because they miss it so much.

Plus, where you live, how often does something like this happen?

*Note: I am not a Star Trek fan, but you have to admit that it is pretty cool...

ACL Ticket Prices

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week; I was in Boston for the weekend (more on that later).

It is looking like prices are going up again this year for ACL 3-day passes. The "early-bird" tickets have already sold out (they went on sale the day after the festival last year), and the second tier tickets go on sale tomorrow (4/7) at 10am central time.

The ticket prices will start out at $160, and most likely go up to about $180 or $185 after the second tier allotment is sold out. Either way, it is far too expensive for the quality of bands they are bringing in to this festival (*Note: this does not apply to ALL bands at the music fest).

Every year I want it to be more like the 2005 ACL fest, and every year I am disappointed. However, I will be getting tickets, because C3 Presents knows that even though the bands aren't as great, I can't miss a music festival that is taking place in my own backyard.

These headliners have pretty much all been confirmed as the headliners to this year's festival. You can get tickets here tomorrow morning.

*UPDATE (4/7): ACL tickets have been purchased...just waiting for the official release of the lineup on 4/28.