Go Ahead and SmileHere's the much blogged-about video from one of my favorite imports of 2006. Alright, Still is released in the US by Capitol on 1/30/07.At first when I see you cry,yeah it makes me smile, yeah it makes my smile.At worst I feel bad for a while,but then I just smile I go ahead and smile.-- Lily Allen, "Smile"Lily Allen - "Smile"Endnote: Please click here for my review of Alright, Still.Image from Lily Allen, lyrics from A-Z Lyrics, video from YouTube. Allen is the musical guest on this week's SNL.

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While Ye MayThe Rosebuds, Night of the Furies, Merge Records [4/10/07]Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,Old Time is still a-flying:And this same flower that smiles to-dayTo-morrow will be dying.-- "To the Virgins, to make much of Time" by Robert Herrick (1591–1674)Like Matador or post-grunge Sub Pop, North Carolina's Merge Records doesn't have a signature sound. Acts include Destroyer, Robert Pollard, Spoon, M. Ward, and the Clean's David Kilgour. Raleigh's Rosebuds represent the lighter end of the sonic spectrum. In other words, the two are more Camera Obscura than Arcade Fire. Other non-Merge bands they bring to mind include the Human League, the Post

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¡Viva Mexico!Upon hearing that he had received six Oscar nominations for Pan's Labyrinth, tying with The Queen,Guillermo del Toro issued the following statement.This is an unimaginable experience for me. I am both humbled and honored that Pan's Labyrinth is receiving so much recognition from so many fields. To receive six nominations for a film that is a true labor of love exceeds any expectation I could have ever had in my overweight life. It is specially beautiful to share this moment with my dear friends Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu. This is an unprecedented representation of Spanish-language filmmakers and actors.To have my film

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Partly Cloudy (Chance of Rain)AIDS Wolf vs. Athletic Automaton, Clash of the Life-Force Warriors, Skin Graft [1/23/07]I slipped this disc in my player with no foreknowledge about either group. Seripop's B&W Savage Pencil-inspired artwork is both scary and intriguing [they're also responsible for the image at right] and the band names are definitely...interesting. I thought that might apply to the music, as well. It does. This is swirling, pounding punkadelica, for lack of a better word.Athletic Automaton are from Providence and AIDS Wolf are from Montreal. Both have released one record apiece. Some of the tracks on their first collaboration are in

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Still Singing, Still BuzzingThe Bird and the Bee, The Bird and the Bee, Metro Blue/Blue NoteAs a general rule, I review every record that comes my way as soon as I can. This can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. I received the Bird and the Bee's debut in October and posted a review a day or two afterwards. Over three months have passed since then, yet the CD isn't released until 1/23/07. To read the original post, please click here. And here's what I wrote for Seattle Sound:Aptly named LA duo the Bird and the Bee consists of Inara George and Greg Kurstin. An actress-turned-singer, Inara claims Little Feat's Lowell George as father. Kursti

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Soft Collective (Animal Machine)The Nein, Luxury, Sonic Unyon Recording Co. [2/20/07 release date]I wasn't sure what to expect from this album as I'd never heard the Nein before. And I hate the muddled cover [see the bottom of this post for graphic]. Once an art major, always an art major. If you're gonna combine drawing with photography and two different typefaces, you've got to find a way to tie it all together.All I knew was that Dale Flattum (Steel Pole Bathtub), who's since left, was a member at the time of this recording. For all the effects (tapes, samples) he contributes, Luxury is still rock. And I'll always be a traditionalist at heart. I wo

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I'm Shipping Up to BostonVarious Artists, The Departed, Warner Brothers[original soundtrack]When punk group Dropkick Murphys composed music for Woody's lyric "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" for their 2005 al-bum The Warrior's Code, they had no idea it would end up be-ing featured in Martin Scorsese's...The Departed, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg.-- From the official Woody Guthrie websiteI picked up this collection because I like the music, which works well with Scorsese's expressionistic visuals (though Lennon's "Well, Well, Well" is conspicuous by its absence). I don't buy ev-ery soundtrack I like, though, so

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All Is Quiet on New Year's DayAll is quiet on New Year's DayA world in white gets underwayI want to be with youBe with you night and dayNothing changes on New Year's DayOn New Year's Day.--U2, "New Year's Day" (1983) These are the reviews and other as-signments I'm working on this month.Amazon: Happily N'Ever After (Shrek wannabe), New Year's Day (David Duchovny's first film), Shottas (Scarface-inspired"rastaploitation" flick), Seven Swords (Tsui Hark's over-long, ifstunning actioner), KT Tunstall - KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extra-vaganza, The Animation Show - Vol. 1 & 2 (theatrical seriesfrom Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt) [two-disc set], Two-a-Days

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