I admit my musical taste has gotten kind of soft of late, so I'm happy to pass on that the new !!! album is pretty fucking hot. It comes out March 6th, but you can grab the whole thing right over here (courtesy of There's a Fire in the Peach Pit)

I liked their 2004 LP Louden Up Now a lot, though in all honesty about 10 minutes of the album was amazing (all of "Hello, Is This Thing On," half of "Pardon My Freedom," and about two minutes of "Me and Giulliani Down by the Schoolyard") and the rest was pretty unnecessary. Plus, the songs were all over the place, so half a song would be awesome and the other half would be garbage. Anyway, my first reaction to Myth Takes is that it's a lot more varied, coherent, and...good. I don't know if the highs are quite as high as those on the previous album, but it's definitely a better album. And if you're concerned that !!! have lost some of their strangeness, rest assured that new track titles include "All My Heroes Are Weirdos" and "Bend Over Beethoven." Good times!

!!! / "Heart of Hearts" (left-click Yousendit)

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Pitchfork has their top 100 songs of the year list up with lots of mp3 links. Some of my favorites:

Junior Boys / "In the Morning"
JB's electropop has been mentioned ad nauseum...here's one of the album's highlights

Ghostface Killah / "Be Easy"
As you know, I don't really listen to rap. Killah sounds pretty pissed, which amuses me. I previously linked to a mashup of this song with Ghostface Observatory, that adds a thick bass guitar. Either way it's pretty sweet.

Fujiya & Miyagi / "Collarbone"
Much to my disappointment, F&M are English and not Japanese. And they're English English, not Japanese English. So that sucks, but this is song offers an anatomy and physiology lesson over a slick bassline.

Asobi Seksu / "Thursday"
Another band NOT from Japan, though at least their lead singer is Japanese (and relatively cute). This is clean, pretty pop rock.

Annuals / "Brother"
This song goes from quiet acoustic guitar over the sound of crickets to a fairly rocking tune by the end of it.

Klaxons / "Gravity's Rainbow"
I keep hearing about Klaxons, and I want to like them, but I'm still not sure if I do.

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Parkour is the name given to the French "sport" of...well...this. Its "founders" are David Belle and Sebastien Foucain; the former starred in the French action/martial arts film District B-13, while the latter was in that crazy construction site chase scene in Casino Royale.

Below I've got a random video by a random dude who also does a lot of similar urban acrobatics...I just find this crap rather awesome. You can bet that I'd be doing backflips off the walls of J.C. Penny if I could.



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Mess with a bull, you get the (flaming) horns. I'm not buying the "20 minutes" claim though.

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The only thing better than a good prank is a prank that backfires. That and a million other things.******

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As a soccer fan who has a slightly more than passing interest in MLS, I've generally assumed that the David Beckham-to-MLS rumors were largely wishful thinking on the part of writers wishing their MLS coverage was less boring. Andrea Canales breaks down why there might be something to it.

It's not just that Beckham has lost his regular place with his club team, Real Madrid, and no doubt longs to be wanted, or perhaps even badly needed, as a player again. With the Beckhams having developed recent friendships with Hollywood power players, there's also the telling sign that his wife, Victoria, has also been spotted house hunting in Los Angeles.

Follow the money. The money required to sign Beckham has been made possible by the new MLS Designated Player Rule. Not coincidentally, it's known as the David Beckham rule.

"Because of the new rules, we are no longer dealing with strictly league money," said Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas. "We are dealing specifically with, when you talk about designated players, with AEG [Anschutz Entertainment Group], and ultimately, Phil Anschutz's money."

Anschutz is the owner of the Galaxy, the MLS team considered to have the greatest appeal for Beckham.

Although Lalas is the team's GM, he is still a relatively inexperienced executive. In the past, major deals for the team, including the one that brought American star Landon Donovan to the squad, have been set up by Tim Leiweke, considered Anschutz's point man in all sports matters.

It's likely that Leiweke will again take the lead in any deal involving Beckham.

"I am smart enough to know that if I need to get a job done, and I need help to get it done, I will gladly let people help me," Lalas said. "Ultimately, the most important thing is that we get a quality team on the field."

Leiweke has dealt with Beckham before, helping the star establish his namesake soccer academy in Los Angeles. Leiweke was also instrumental in getting Beckham's Real Madrid club to play the Galaxy in 2005.

The hints of finance may not be enough for some to believe in Beckham's arrival. Others put faith more in the old-school connection of relationships and trusted insiders.

To those, it should be significant that a couple of weeks ago, Craig Forrest, a former Canadian national team player and Ipswich Town teammate of current Galaxy coach Frank Yallop, declared on radio and television that he is convinced Beckham's signing is imminent and will be announced during the January transfer window.

Yallop and Forrest are friends who remain in regular contact, and it's unlikely that Yallop would mislead his longtime comrade.