… OK, I’m going to be in LA (west Hollywood, more specifically) this weekend. Anyone have record store recommendations — other than Amoeba, where I’ll be spending a good hour or four.

… For anyone going to Austin for the ACL festival: If you’re there on Thursday (Sept. 22), Thievery Corporation and DJ Z-Trip are playing Stubb’s. That would be the same Stubb’s where we’ll be seeing the Arcade Fire and Black Keys on Friday night.

… There’s a lot of blogger fantasy football trash talking going on out there. So let me just be the first to call it: The fantasy football champ resides right here on this little Web site.

… I know you already hit my favorite sites over there at the right. And there are two new ones to the list: Veritas Lux Mea (the truth is my light) keeps a tight mix on sports, news and music: What else do you need?

And be sure (especially if you’re an old-school hip-hop fan) to visit D-Nice’s blog. Yes, that D-Nice — formerly the deejay of Boogie Down Productions whose solo LP Call Me D-Nice is a downright classic. I can’t believe I never knew about his blog, but it’s the shite: loaded with words and pictures and a few downloads. Really, it’s crazy to see an artist I like so much doing the blog thing. Coolness.

This was — and always will be — THE joint:

D-Nice | Call Me D-Nice

… Have you checked out Bliptones? For $1.99 apiece, you can download a whole slew of indie songs for your cell phone: The Decemberists, Death Cab (“ba, baaaaa, this is the sound of settling”), Sleater-Kinney, My Morning Jacket and a bunch more. I went with a DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist ringer.

… Does anyone have thoughts/opinions on the Andy Milonakis Show on MTV? I’m ashamed to say I laughed when I sat down and watched it last week.

… Upcoming local shows:

• August 18: DJ Z-Trip with Black Sheep, Club Congress, Tucson.
• September 2: Common, Marquee Theatre, Tempe.
• September 18: The Decemberists with Sons & Daughters, Marquee Theatre, Tempe.
• September 28: DJ Z-Trip with Black Sheep, Clubhouse, Tempe.
• October 8: The National/Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Modified, Phoenix.
• October 16: Iron and Wine and Calexico, Marquee Theatre, Tempe.
• October 18: The Go! Team, Clubhouse, Tempe.
• November 8: Death Cab for Cutie, Marquee Theatre, Tempe.

And, oh yeah, 41 days until Austin.

Just a little weekend treat:

Jurassic 5 | Concrete Schoolyard (Funky Precedent edit)

Thought I’d take a break from music and change it up a little. Da Ali G Show could be one of the funniest shows on TV, in my opinion. Sasha Baron Cohen plays three roles in the show: Ali G, a wannabe British gangsta born “in da heart off da Staines ghetto”; Borat, a confused TV reporter from Kazakhstan; and Bruno, an Austrian fashion reporter.

This Slate article talks about how Cohen is able to dupe some pretty prominent Americans (Newt Gingrich, Buzz Aldrin, Sam Donaldson) into appearing on the show for “interviews” with Ali G. My favorite, though, is Borat, who attempts to explore American culture while practically offending everyone in his path.

Here’s a couple of clips from the first season. (Sound clips were transferred to MP3 using Audio Hijack Pro.)

Ali G asks Buzz Aldrin if man will ever walk on the sun.
Borat interviews at a dating agency.

Last night my wife and I went out for a couple (OK, a few) drinks — hangover today (thanks, Angel) — with a great group of people and the conversation instantly turned to music. Many questions were posed that I felt should be shared here.

1) If you could have one band reunite which would it be? (And it can be from a particular time period, too, like “New Kids on the Block from the Hangin’ Tough years.”). My answer was A Tribe Called Quest (see previous post).

2) What song, even though you like it, can you never listen to, like, for example, when it comes on the radio? My answer: Jeremy by Pearl Jam or just about anything off Ten, which plays off my theory that I actually derive more pleasure listening to Vs. because it hasn’t been so overdone. (Also, Smells Like Teen Spirit, just about anything by Soundgarden off Superunknown and Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys.)

3) On the flipside, what song would you NEVER get tired of? I still have yet to answer this one.

Thoughts ???

You can now bookmark this site at www.somuchsilence.com.

While you’re surfing around check this NPR story on DJ Jedi, an LA-based turntablist who’s spinning for Digable Planets on their current reunion tour.

Just a few items to wrap up from the weekend:

… My recent excursion to Tucson consisted mostly of shopping for vinyl. But I did pick up one CD: a Barsuk Records compilation called Treats, which includes a dub version of Death Cab for Cutie’s We Laugh Indoors. (How far behind am I on this, eh?) Anyway, from what I can gather, the track was included on the single for I Was a Kaleidoscope. I’ll tie this mp3 into the release of Death Cab’s new DVD Drive Well, Sleep Carefully, available for $20 at Barsuk here.

Death Cab: We Laugh Indoors (dub)

… It’s not often I pay much attention to the multitude of ads pleading for my cursor when I hit Pitchfork. But one caught my eye on Sunday for the Scott Amendola Band. I recognize Amendola mostly from his days as the drummer for Charlie Hunter, that fine eight-string jazz guitar player. Anyway, Amendola’s band has a new CD out called Believe. What’s interesting to note is that Nels Cline plays guitar and lap steel guitar (one of my favorite instruments to hear) on the album. Cline, as you might know, is also playing with this liltle band called Wilco. Anyway, there sample clips here are worth checking out. I’ve always found this brand of jazz a nice change of pace, even if traditionalists scoff at it.

… The baseball trading deadline was sort of anticlimactic, though the Cubs did well to pry Matt Lawton — finally, a legitimate leadoff man — from the Pirates for only Jody Gerut. I’m just glad they didn’t sell off the farm or pull through on the proposed Aramis Ramirez for Bill Mueller-Manny Ramirez deal. Besides, Kerry Wood and Nomar Garciaparra are coming back this week.

… Sufjan Stevens tonight at Marquee Theatre in Tempe. I’m so there.

… What I’ll be missing Tuesday night because of work … sigh: Hieroglyphics at the Clubhouse in Tempe.

… What I’ll be missing Wednesday night because of work … sigh: The Shapeshifters at the Paper Heart gallery in Phoenix for only 5 bills. If you’re a hip-hop fan, you need to check out the Shapeshifters album Shapeshifters Was Here. (There will be Shapeshifters music here this week.)

I couldn’t pass up this gem in the Chicago Tribune on Arizona’s most-famous drunk driver, Glen Campbell:

By Monica Eng
Chicago Tribune

I call Glen Campbell earlier this month at his Malibu home and find out it’s a day of celebration. It’s the day he gets to remove the Intoxalock
from his car.

“Whoever invented that thing should be hit upside the head with a crowbar — or at least a cane or a pool cue,” the country icon growls over the phone, referring to the Breathalyzer-type device linked to a car’s ignition system that he had to blow into to start his car. “You know it’s not even technically legal, but they do a lot of things differently there in Arizona.” …

Yes, we do — like post on the weekends. But, Glen, some would say a blood-alcohol level of more than .15 and leaving the scene of an accident is “not even technically legal.” (The story goes on to explain that Glen has since moved to Malibu, Calif.)

Really, this post has nothing to do with Glen Campbell, but I couldn’t resist. Too funny.

Anyway, any regular readers (insert laugh track here) of this space know I’m a fan of hip-hop. And I’m challenging my man Chris (the fourth member of Digable Planets) at Gorilla vs. Bear to post some more hip-hop and I promise to do the same. After all, we can’t be all indie all the time, right?

That said, I’ve uncovered www.undergroundhiphop.com, which has a veritable trove of songs you can stream. Using Audio Hijack Pro, I’m trying to clean up the tracks, which have a bit of a tinny sound to them. (Lemme know how the audio sounds on these.)

So, for you weekend readers, here’s a little treat. Pay special attention to the Cocoa Brovaz Super Brooklyn, which uses Super Mario Bros. music as the sampled loop. It’s, um, dope.

Cocoa Brovaz: Super Brooklyn
D-Nice: Call Me D-Nice
Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz: Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)

Before I hit the lovely Interstate 10, with two hours of desert and sun and 110 degree weather between here and Tucson, I leave you with some recommendations (hopefully, Buckner pictures to follow tomorrow, unless I’m running off to Tempe to see Brendan Benson):

Gorilla vs. Bear hooks you up with dirty-girl music and pictures, to boot! (And check out his Lollapalooza wrap; I think Chris is going to be an honorary member of Digable Planets soon.)

Welcome to the Midwest offers up a new Death Cab for Cutie track from the forthcoming LP Plans.

South of Mainstream made my day (no, week) on Monday with a little vigil to Champaign, Illinois’ finest, Hum. You remember “Stars,” and you liked it.

Soul Sides has a new Nas track, on which he takes 50 Cent to task. Nice.

Go visit Dodge … just because. He’s got a monster recap of Lollapalooza, and I’ve even forgiven him for skipping out on Z-Trip.

No music at Post Secret, but check it out: Homemade anonymous postcards with peoples’ little secrets. It’s very intriguing. (I’m sending one in to confess that I looked at those Gorilla vs. Bear photos today — twice.)

For cool photoshop-ish art, check out Tik. He hooked me up with a jpeg that I’m gonna blow up into art for the pad AND we share the same name.

Chris is motivating me to dig up more vinyl, so I promise more remixes (mostly hip-hop) next week. …

It’s possible (no, likely) I’m way behind on this, but I was stunned out of my nap-induced stupor today by an M&M’s commercial that featured Iron and Wine’s cover of Postal Service’s Such Great Heights. First, Shins on a McDonald’s ad, then Modest Mouse on a Nissan ad and now this? I’m not crying sellout or anything; it’s just … weird. …

More on the INXS “Rock Star” front. Billboard story reports that ratings are — shock! — low; I think only Dodge watches it (for his loyalty, he may be nominated the band’s next singer). But: “The week of the show’s premiere, sales of “The Best of INXS” nearly tripled to more than 5,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.” Yes, of course. Then guitarist Tim Farriss, defending the band’s decision to find a singer via reality TV says: “In all seriousness, what were we supposed to do? Put an ad in the paper?” Is that a rhetorical question? Clay Aiken is available.

Tomorrow (nay, late tonight) I have an NFL/Chicago Bears-inspired post. You won’t be sorry. Check back.

Also, I’ll be getting all alt-country on you in preparation for the Richard Buckner/Anders Parker show in Tucson, which will include a required trip to PDQ Records, literally a warehouse full of vinyl in no particular order. It’s maddening and marvelous.

I’m off to the endodontist tomorrow for my first (and hopefully my last) root canal. Let this be a lesson: Don’t put off going to the dentist. And brush. And floss. And you’ll be happy, like Little Toothy over there.

The good news is I can listen to my iPod. The bad news is I doubt I’ll be able to hear anything with whatever god-awful drilling instruments they’ll be inserting into my teeth. But the worst part about the whole ordeal is I don’t even get to go under with gas. Only novocaine.

Oh, well. Enough about the torture. Here are some dental-inspired tracks. The Poison track, recorded from vinyl, comes from the album Open Up and Say … Ahhh. Naturally.

Poison — Every Rose Has its Thorn
Roots with Roy Ayers — Proceed
Beastie Boys — Root Down