Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival)
Sat and Sun at the Beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Garden
click here for schedule and info
Saturday will be rainy most likely, but Sunday should be nice

From Flavorpill
Despite Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku girls, the obsession with Lost in Translation, and the widespread acceptance of Murakami’s pop art, we should acknowledge that Japan is about more than modern pop culture trends. For a taste of old traditions, there’s the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. And no, you don’t have to go to DC to see them ‚Äî it’s just a short subway ride to Brooklyn. The two-day festival features a full schedule of events, including Samurai sword fighting, Taiko drumming, classical concerts, and woodblock printing classes.

And, if you can get a ticket, Death From Above 1979 are playing the Bowery Ballroom Sat, Apr 30 — doors open at 8:30pm. Tickets are $15

From Village Voice
They’re a duo from Canada, but we won’t pass judgment. Nor will we chastise them for being on Vice Records and being the sort of quasi-/neo-metalheads that just might wear girls’ jeans and trucker hats. Why? Because they totally rock: dancey disco beats, robotic turbo bass, and sticky-sweet classic-rock vocals that have you singin’ along about young love and blood on yer hands all while headbangin’ and doing a li’l Ashlee Simpson jig. With Uncut and Controller.Controller.

Mark you calendars. Check out some music. Help prevent our neighborhood from turning into a generic suburban hell:

Williamsburg Warriors and Kill Whitie present
REZONE THIS! @ CLUB EXIT
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
April 28th, 2005
Tickets $12.50 advance, $15.00 door. Advance Tix at EAT Records
Doors open at 8:00pm, show starts at 9:00pm
Featuring TV on the Radio, Dragons of Zynth, Apollo Heights, Roxy
Pain, and Tha Pumpsta with Chief Quievie
REZONE THIS! a show organized by local Williamsburg/Greenpoint community groups features a show and dance party to raise awareness of the city’s plan for OUR waterfront rezoning.

From Todd P:
a sort of secret GHOST EXITS reunion show is happening after the TVOTR show – Thursday 2/28 – and FREE BLOOD (members !!! aka Chk Chk Chk) is playing too.
It’s at Club Exit after the TV on the Radio show, really late, during the Kill Whitie dance party. It’ll be $6 to get into the late late party.
The bands’ll go down in the lapdance room / vip lounge @ Club Exit – 147 Greenpoint Ave @ Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint Brooklyn.

Matt Taibbi has another great column this week on the recently passed bankruptcy bill. You know, the bill that the credit card industry has been bribing Congress to back. Here’s an excerpt:

But my absolute favorite is the amendment, proposed by Bill Nelson of Florida, to exempt from means testing individuals whose debts were incurred as a result of identity fraud. It would be hard to imagine any legitimate objection to this amendment. The only rational objection to this amendment would be that your tongue is so far up the ass of MBNA [the world's largest independent credit card issuer]that you can’t possibly vote for it. Which says something about the Senate; the amendment was crushed, 61-37.
Among the Democrats who voted “Nay” to that amendment were Carper, who received $86,107 from credit card companies last year, and our Capra-esque civic hero Biden, who received a total of $144,700 between 1999 and 2004 — far more than he received from any other industry.

Damn you Access Hollywood. We were flipping to see if Pat O’Brien had returned yet from his coke and hooker binge (he’s on The Insider but we get confused since they’re essentially the same show) and heard the souless blonde autumaton, Nancy O’Dell, utter the word Brangelina. That’s right, Access Hollywood coined a combination of Brad and Angelina who are rumored to be an item. It was bad enough having to endure the inane “Bennifer” thing. Don’t put us through six months of “Brangelina.” We never run gossip stories and could care less if Pitt and Jolie are an item. We just want the cutesy tabloid name combos to stop. If you want to give Brad and Angelina a print-friendly name, at least come up with something more interesting like Jo-Pitt, Brangenital Warts, or simply, The Pretty Fucking Stupids.

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Interview by Monte Holman

About five years after his inaugural solo release, Sam Prekop gives us the follow—up, Who’s Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey), an album that charms and puts a jazzy pop spin on post—rock. Prekop, formerly of Shrimp Boat and currently of the Sea and Cake, has a lot of critical acclaim to live up to. His self—titled first solo album was praised by just about everyone, and other projects he touches-his paintings and photos have received a lot of attention as well-turn to gold. But the pressure of this acclaim seems to have fueled Prekop rather than paralyzed him. Proof: Who’s Your New Professor is among his best work.
Simultaneously channeling the Sea and Cake’s fluidity while exploring subtler abrasiveness, Professor expands preexisting notions of Prekop’s songwriting. He surprises us with mini—movements that change forms effortlessly and manage to qualify as pop songs. The percussion on the album slices through catchy melodies like a Ginsu, so fine it’s practically unnoticeable. Prekop’s warm, graceful vocals finish the songs with a dollop of sophistication.
Before embarking on an extended early summer tour (see dates after the jump) to support his new solo album throughout Europe and the States, Sam was kind enough to speak with us about Chicago, the new album, and the Meat Puppets.
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FREEwilliamsburg: You grew up in Chicago and are there still. How would you characterize Chicago right now? Is there a sense of community or competition, both?
I have to admit I feel somewhat out of the loop at this point. Of course I know a lot of people who are musicians and artists, and I don’t sense any intense competitive energy [laughs] coming from them. Now the bands that are starting up—it could be ferociously competitive—I have no idea. I’ve been here so long making music and art that I don’t pay an enormous amount of time to what else is going on. I mean I go and see shows, and I live right above Thrill Jockey, so I’m pretty knowledgeable of whatever is coming out on Thrill Jockey. That’s sort of my community. But Chicago’s really big, so there’s no way I could provide any grand scope on what’s really going on here.
FREEwilliamsburg: Do you think you’ll ever leave?
I could see someday leaving, I guess, but as long as I’m making music I’ll probably stay here because I need the system here to get things going, to play with other people that live here, the clubs, the label, all that stuff.
FREEwilliamsburg: Did you have everyone from the first solo album contribute to this one?
Pretty much, except Jim O’Rourke played on the first one and produced it-he was the only one missing.
FREEwilliamsburg: And John McEntire produced Who’s Your New Professor?

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Sufjan Stevens’s new record Illinois isn’t set to be released until July 5 but it’s happened again…. an Internet leak. If you are an impatient, heartless bastard with no scruples, check it out here.
Here’s the upcoming tracklist (care of Pitchfork)
01 Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL
02 The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You’re Going to Have to Leave Now, or, “I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them until they are off our lands!”
03 Come on! Feel the Illinoise!
-Part I: The World’s Columbian Exposition
-Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream
04 John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
05 Jacksonville
06 A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons
07 Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!
08 One Last “Woo-hoo!” for the Pullman
09 Chicago
10 Casimir Pulaski Day

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FROM AP

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn, addresses a crowd via teleconferencing at an evangelical Christian rally called ‘Justice Sunday,’ Sunday, April 24, 2005 in Louisville, Ky., in an effort to rally churchgoers to protest the filibuster tactic used by Democrats to stall President Bush’s picks for the federal court. (AP Photo/Patti Longmire)

“Religious” leader James Dobson knows the GOP is under his thumb. As he stated at the rally after encouraging the people in attendance to put pressure on pandering legislators:
“Republicans are real good at trembling.”

The Rock? What the fuck? From ComingSoon.net

Cherry Road Films and Darko Entertainment announced today that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will star opposite Seann William Scott (“American Pie” films, The Dukes of Hazzard) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Grudge) in the science-fiction thriller Southland Tales for writer-director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko). Sean McKittrick will produce under the Darko Entertainment banner he co-founded with Kelly. Cherry Road principals Bo Hyde and Kendall Morgan will produce. Executive producers are Matthew Rhodes and Judd Payne of Persistent Entertainment, Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel of Inferno Distribution, and Oliver Hengst of Academy Film Gmbh.
Principal photography is slated to begin on August 1 in Los Angeles. Cherry Road Films has officially greenlit the picture with co-financing from Universal Pictures International, Inferno Distribution and Wild Bunch, with Universal distributing in most foreign territories through the UIP banner, and Wild Bunch distributing in France, Benelux, Spain and Switzerland. Richard Klubeck of UTA is representing on the domestic front.

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We’re glad others are enjoying HAL as much as we are. From the Independent:

[Hal] is a wonderful piece of work, its 11 songs managing that trick, shared by all great albums, of sounding individually distinct yet of a piece, like Revolver or Forever Changes. That’s not too strained a comparison, either: I’ve not heard another album in the past few years whose songs lodge so securely in the memory, one after another, a string of pop pearls that lightens one’s load and lifts one’s spirit.

SATURDAY APRIL 23rd @ CLUB EXIT
147 Greenpoint Ave @ Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
BLACK DICE
Eric Gaffney & Jason Loewenstein (original members of Sebadoh)
Blood on the Wall
Cause Co-Motion
get there early, bands have to be over by midnight!
[ BLACK DICE ]
BLACK DICE, with acclaim ranging from such outlets as The New York Times to Frieze magazine, have been creating an international underground stir. Past performances at art spaces such as the Andrew Kreps Gallery and the Swiss Institute, align them with the New York art world. Notorious for their history of aggressive live performances that challenge sound barriers, their music has grown to a state of spatial complexity, creating a sea of electronic bass tones, altered vocals, percussion experimentation and abstract guitar drones. Black Dice has released records on DFA and Troubleman Unlimited records.

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