A white guy won the men's 400m today. Not just that, a white American guy won. That just seems fucked up.

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Saw Ambulance and Elefant a week ago. They were, as usual, both very good, and I guess it makes sense they were touring together because I've now seen both bands four times in the past year. I've added some pictures here. Diego Garcia of Elefant is still the studliest frontman in indierock, though he loses some points for coming off like an overly sensitive rock star (he seems like the kind of guy who would talk in hushed tones about his poetry...but hey, the guy did graduate from Brown). They played a couple new songs but they sounded more or less like outtakes from Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid.

Bassist Jeff Berrall is still my favorite member of the band, in part because the bass is the key part of their sound and in part because he just seems like a good dude. Also, the first time I saw them he got out ahead of everyone to smoke a cigarette outside and I said "awesome show man" or some other non-descript compliment as I walked by and he seemed almost taken aback and gave me a quick "Thanks!" See, it's the little things. I had basically the same experience with Ronnie Vannucci (drums) of the Killers so I like him too. That was on the tour they opened for stellastarr*, so maybe he wasn't used to people being nice or something (yes, I was *there* before they became big...of course so was all of England, blah).

Ambulance also played a new song which was good, and this time they didn't open with "Stay Where You Are," which I appreciated because it's my fave song of theirs and I like for them to build to it, rather than blow their load right away. It's interesting they opened for Elefant given they've had a lot more press recently in terms of late night gigs and M2 airplay and shit, but I guess they're still paying their dues on the road. Plus they don't have Diego Garcia to reel all the chicks in.

Also, it should be noted that Elefant's guitarist, probably the least-attractive member of the band, goes by the name Mod. There you go.

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How exactly do you fence "The Scream"? It's gotta suck stealing something like that because if you actually get away with the theft, then you still have to sell it somehow. I imagine you just have to try and ransom it or something. Anyway, it's retarded.

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This could be good: I Love Huckabees.

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I have been listening almost exclusively to M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts in the past week. This is somewhat odd, because despite it being a very well-reviewed album (the snobs at Pitchfork gave it a 9.2/10), it's not exactly the most accessible music--ambient electronica with very little in the way of vocals. The album was originally released last December, but Nicolas Fromageau and Anthony Gonzalez, being the American-hating Frenchmen they are, refused to provide a stateside release until now. *But* they've actually done us something of a favor, because as a reward for the long wait they packaged the US disc with a 5-track bonus disc that includes the terrific Cyann and Ben version of "In Church" and a live version of "Gone," which you wouldn't even notice is live aside from the clapping at the beginning and end (the live guitar added into the mix improves on the already-epic album version). If you do or don't pick up the disc, be sure to check out Run into Flowers, America, Gone and Cyborg.


Nick and Tony = M83

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I thought Collateral was terrific. Not mind-blowing or life-altering, but entirely satisfying at the very least. Jamie Foxx is excellent, as is Tom Cruise, who I've always had a soft spot for. It's got the grittiness you'd expect from a Michael Mann film, and the leads combine with a very good script to really make it go.

Here's an interesting excerpt from an RS article about Tom Cruise.

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To see why Daylight Saving Time (no plural on "saving") saves money and lives, go here.