Synergies

Das Racist, Liturgy, And 18 More New York Bands Are On Christopher R. Weingarten's Hipster Puppies Mix Tape

By Maura Johnston Wed., Aug. 10 2011 at 11:30 AM
Categories: Christopher R. Weingarten, Friends, Synergies

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SOTC pal Christopher R. Weingarten's Hipster Puppies, filled with pictures of bohemian canines and razor-sharp captions from the man himself, is out, and later this month there will be two events honoring its release: A pageant for pups at PowerHouse Arena on August 25, and a dog-friendly in-store at Sound Fix on August 27. Buy a book at one of those events and you can score yourself a copy of the Hipster Puppies mix tape, which Chris calls "a love letter to New York, as it features a meticulously curated selection of 20 of my favorite local bands." Given that he's tipping us off to new local acts every week as our Yes In My Backyard columnist, you know that he didn't just search "New York" in his iTunes library and call it a day. Full track listing below.


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Synergies

Please Enjoy This Brief Clip Of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, A Pumpkin, And A Basketball Hoop

By Maura Johnston Wed., Jun. 29 2011 at 2:45 PM
Categories: Smashing Pumpkins, Synergies


In the above video, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slam-dunks a pumpkin in honor of the Smashing Pumpkins, because the Internet demands absurdist content to feed its perpetual-motion machine. I would have preferred a recreation of the Airplane! scene where some smartass kid starts smack-talking Kareem-in-disguise's basketball skills while the former Laker is pursuing his side career as a pilot, if only because it would allow lead Pumpkin Billy Corgan to play up his "biggest heel of the '90s" side that is quite enjoyable to watch from afar, but we all have to take what we can get these days.


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Synergies

Ride The Free Parking: Suggested Modifications For The Metallica Monopoly Game

By Chris Steffen Thu., Jun. 9 2011 at 1:00 PM
Categories: Chris Steffen, Games People Play, Metallica, Synergies

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Given that Metallica themselves have raised the question, "Can you ever really have enough money? Can you possess enough beachfront properties and Fifties-style hot rods?", it makes sense that the band will have its own Monopoly game, which goes on sale in the band's online store next week. Details are scarce as far as any Metallica-related modifications to the board go, so there's no choice but to wildly speculate as to what changes lie in store. Will cash still be cash, or will it be "credibility points," with players losing some for each perceived sell-out? Does it come with pyro? Can you deal art on the side? A few ideas, below.


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Synergies

T-Pain Swears Off Auto-Tune, But Don't Think That Means He's Going Unplugged

By Maura Johnston Thu., Jun. 2 2011 at 11:00 AM
Categories: Synergies, T-Pain

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He should really open a haberdashery next.
Earlier this hour a tweet from Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff crossed the SOTC transom, and it contained important news for fans of music-production technology and pop-tinged R&B: "End of an era: @TPAIN says 'I vow right here, right now, to never use Auto-Tune again,'" it read. Mon dieu! Could this mean that Teddy Pin-Her-Ass-Down would drop the effects and get nice and close to the microphone on his next record? Or could it just mean that he'd figured out that, hey, since so much of his brand is tangled up in the idea of his vocals being electronically altered, he might as well come out with a vocal processor branded with his own name?

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Synergies

Lady Gaga To Turn Farmville Into A Parking Lot For Windowless Airbrushed Vans

By Maura Johnston Tue., May 10 2011 at 5:00 PM
Categories: Events In Popular Music, Lady Gaga, Synergies

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Beep beep, baby, you were born this way.

"On May 17th, Lady Gaga and Zynga will unveil GagaVille, a farm within FarmVille, which will showcase Lady Gaga's themes from the album, such as crystals, unicorns and motorcycles."
--Warning: Your Facebook news feed is about to be taken over by an insane amount of cross-promotion for Lady Gaga's Born This Way, one which will apparently further solidify Gaga's position as the standard-bearer for the revival of the hard-rock-chick aesthetic of ~22 years ago. The question you must ask--well, aside from "So who pays whom for the honor?"--is this: Will your friends (or, maybe, "friends") who are always bugging you with requests to join their virtual farms irritate you more or less now that their game-playing can be soundtracked by the dulcet tones of Clarence Clemons's saxophone? Choose wisely, otherwise you'll get sucked into Ke$ha Mob Wars before it's too late.

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Listen

The Smashing Pumpkins' New Song "Owata" Is A Springtime Sparkler

By Maura Johnston Tue., May 3 2011 at 5:00 PM
Categories: Listen, Smashing Pumpkins, Synergies

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Our corporate siblings on the other side of the country have the line on "Owata," the newest--10th, if you're counting--song to surface from the Smashing Pumpkins' 44-track Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. "Owata" finds alt-rock superheel Billy Corgan and his mates (Mike Byrne on drums, Nicole Fiorentino on bass, Jeff Schroeder on guitar) in sweet-as-pie pop mode, lining up synths and a singalong-ready chorus then placing a guitar solo that's pretty much straight out of the heartstring-plucking playbook smack in the middle of the whole thing. After tomorrow morning, the song'll be available for free download at the band's official site along with the other Teargarden tracks.

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