Robert Smith is Better Than Ezra

Vampire Weekend have a new video for their fan-favorite and Graceland-tripping "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa." They've done John Hughes proud. Check it:



And, yes, I agree. That is the most clever post title you've ever seen. I should just retire now. If you don't get it, you're clearly no friend of mine. Oh, and Peter Gabriel, too.

-dw

Plagiarists = Non-Winners (and Crazytown?)

Well, we didn't end up winning the Hennessy Presents: Spin "Hot Pursuit" contest. Bummer. Luckily one of the few other halfway decent acts won, so a congratulations is order for the Atlanta band Rantings of Eva. We had an exciting run while the competition lasted, although, as mentioned earlier, the majority of the band wasn't even aware of the Pursuit's existence until the final round. I guess we'll just have to find another magazine/alcoholic beverage music competition to join. I'm looking to see if Patrón and Highlights have any sort of partnership at this point.

Though losing, one of the more giddiness-inducing moments was knowing that celebrity judges would actually be listening to our music and being forced to consider what they heard. Earlier this week the judges posted comments regarding the various entrants, and here's what the panel said about us, and more specifically, our song "Church":

Butch Walker, producer and former Marvelous 3 lead singer
"its a bold name. you gotta reallllllllllly be original to pull off the name without sounding pretentious. but pretention is so hot right now... pretention....not crazy about the song selections... there's only one to hear!!! i hate to make a fair judgment based on one song, but the song is definitely interesting. the production is adventurous and i appreciate where they are going with it. i just want to hear more to make sure it's not that thing like when Crazytown put out that record and the only good song was the one with the chili peppers sample. ok... bad example of a band.. but whatever. it's a good song. i am talking about the song by Plagiarists... not the come my lady come come my lady one...."

Peter Moren, of Peter Bjorn and John fame
"I love the Television-guitars on their song "Church." There is a weird mix of styles here and an angularity which I really enjoy. The glockenspiel-riff mixed with the guitar is nice; good bass and vocals too. Modern rock without being boring. Also went to their My Space to check out their other songs and they hold up and also add some other flavors. Especially the way they arrange the guitars are impressive. Like the pretty lo-fi sound. They should NOT go and record expensive and become Death Cab For Cutie mark 2."

Amanda Palmer, of Dresden Dolls fame
"this reminds me of cutting class & taking off in a borrowed car with the windows down, speeding through mostly-empty roads in september when the weather is crisper than summer and you're on your way to meet someone for tea at an old bookstore."

and the not so ecstatic...

Doug Brod, Spin magazine Editor-in-Chief
"This is all very well done, but aside from the compelling guitar solo, it doesn’t sound particularly distinctive me. Good luck."

Yes, the editor-in-chief from Spin did make that glaring grammatical error in his comment towards us (found on our profile, he luckily corrected himself for his Comments page posting). I guess either our music completely flustered him or he's been making a lot of Facebook wall posts lately.

Comedian Michael Showalter was a judge as well, but he was probably too busy off making a sandwich somewhere to post his comments. Oh well.

-dw

Hey, let's take a look at the Kings of Leon website...whaa? Free download? Why...thank you, Kings of Leon, you really do appreciate my patronage!

Being an enormous fan of Kings of Leon, I have now listened to this song on repeat for what could be construed as an embarrassingly long time. Kings of Leon's forthcoming album Only by the Night is due out September 23rd. Mark it on your calendars, and then check out their addicting new song Crawl! (Repeat if necessary)


-ew

New Chemical Brothers Video

Being a fan of The Chemical Brothers since early middle school, I always get excited when something new pops of from them, even if it's not so hot. Hey, we all know nostalgia is often more powerful than actual quality. The duo has a new collection of singles coming out soon entitled Brotherhood as well as an all-caps awesome video for new single "Midnight Madness." This video is absolutely mesmerizing and although it will most likely haunt me while I sleep, it's preferable to my reoccurring nightmares brought on by this. Ugh. Check it:

Chemical Brothers - Midnight Madness
Uploaded by mikropikol

-dw

Culture of Me Shout-Out (Part III)

Yesterday the fine folks at The Culture of Me posted a third plug for our music and, seriously, these guys could not be more generous towards us (or maybe they could...). Check their write-up on "Wooden Horses" here, and if you missed their features on "Church" and/or "Pockets," click here and/or here, respectively.

-dw

Who you calling 'turkey'?

Season 3 of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! premiered last night on the Cartoon Network and the duo wasted no time in reintroducing Channel 5's charmingly inept Steve Brule. Check it:

Metro Magazine feature

The August issue of Metro Magazine has highlighted Literal Scene as their 'CD of the Month' saying:

"The sophomore release from this quintet of recent St. Olaf grads combines twitchy guitars, lissome xylophone and keyboard fills, and big-riffed choruses to create an enticing blend of highly accessible indie-rock."

Pretty cool. The issue is on newsstands now and the piece can be seen here as well. Hey, we like Dosh and Dance Band, too!

-dw

the Muni in San Fran stole $20 from me and I want it back

San Fransisco is a gorgeous city. Tiny stucco buildings stretch as far as the eye can see, covering the hills in an endless, multicolored collage. For many, crossing over the Bay Bridge represents an entrance into a world of freedom and expression. To those of us to whom arriving at the city meant getting out of a van in which we've spent the last 12 hours overnight from Seattle, it meant a good stretch, and much needed deodorizing of both the human and vehicular undercarriages.

El Rio offered us the rare opportunity to perform between a lemon tree and a palm tree. Few bands can say that their time in San Fran was as fruity as ours. We played to a mixture of super-hipsters wearing winter hats and glasses bigger and weirder than Brendan's, a birthday party for a really excited and most likely heavily intoxicated woman, appreciative people who wandered over from wherever, and a goth transvestite who leered at us as from under a pair of caterpillar eyebrows. Unfortunately, Davis thought this show's theme was Dress Like Your Favorite Nintendo Character. Unsurprisingly, he chose Mario, the lamest character ever.

In case you've ever wondered what touring the country in a van is like, Davis documented a video of our life over the past few weeks. Consider it a "behind the scenes" look.


Also, some exciting news! Unbeknownst to the rest of the band, Davis decided to enter us into the Spin Magazine Hot Pursuit competition. Out of 900 something entries, we've been selected as one of twenty finalists! Drinks are on me! Check it out!

-ew

Plagiarists Video Grab Bag

Here are a few video clips that have kept us entertained over the past few days. Enjoy!


I don't think an hour goes by without someone quoting this Tim and Eric clip, myself being the guiltiest of all.

Our tour theme song. The track probably gets around 3 to 4 listens in Vincent each day, which is just what the doctor ordered. What do you know? - the video is classic, too.





Hey, guess what? Beck is awesome.




Last week we saw Feist for free in Omaha the day after we played there and coincidentally she just played another show in the same city as us this past evening, this time in San Francisco. I think it's safe to say we're full-fledged touring buddies now. We also love Sesame Street, so there you go.



-dw

O-o-oregon!

We decided to take a stop on the coast in Oregon. Though it resulted in seriously painful sunburns for all of us, it was a necessary endeavor. Brendan and I decided to take a dip in the freezing cold water, and Mike chose to come in as well...but under slightly different circumstances. Here are some videos detailing our escapades. Share them with your friends and win a prize!*


Blake found an unwelcome surprise under the sand.



Tomorrow we play in Bend, Oregon at the Summit Lounge.
It's a later show, doors at nine.
Hope to see all of you Oregonians there!


*there is no prize
-ew

In a Big Country

From Iowa to Nebraska you wouldn't think there would be much change in the scenery. And you would think correctly. Endless corn fields and highways that disappear over distant horizons are interspersed with random towns, and occasional small villages with dry wells. However, every so often, the largest ball of stamps ever created comes into view. Take THAT giant frying pan of Iowa! Go America!!!!!

Our Omaha gig was played to a heavily intoxicated crowd of Nebraskans at the Saddle Creek Bar. This shallow room was filled with pool tables, low hanging (sometimes dangerously so) lamps, and most importantly, a pinball machine on which I scored an octuple-jackpot. Luck? or skill? I'll leave you to decide. It was loud, sweaty, and free drinks arrived in the form of unlimited PBR pitchers.
We opted to spend an extra night in Omaha in order to attend a free Feist concert. Set in Memorial Park, the open night air was illuminated by Feist's magnificent voice as it floated up to the edges of the surrounding bowl. Though the crowd was somewhat unresponsive to her inclusive style of performance, she made do, and complimented the perfect weather with song after flawless song.
Indie rockers The Good Life opened the night to an ever growing crowd. In his home town, singer Tim Kasher gave an exciting performance to an appreciative crowd of hipsters, many of whom who were at the age where bringing their newly born children to concerts was the norm. It really made me want to listen to Cursive.

Seeing that the next day we had a sixteen hour drive packed in close proximity within the confines of a small metal box traveling seventy miles an hour down the freeway, stuffing ourselves silly on spicy food and heavy drinks only seemed logical. Applebees, of course, was the only place to go. However, only after we had ordered our food and drinks did the waitress inform us that half price appetizers only applied to Monday through Thursday in Nebraska. Not the normal 7-days a week food fest we're used to. Suffice to say, Blake was not pleased, and began texting furiously in search of justice. Whom he texted, the world may never know, but I can only assume that it was a being of higher power.



Today: 16 hours of driving.
Tomorrow: Tillamook, Oregon.
For now: Modern Rock: Cutting-Edge '80s will keep us sane.


-ew

Fievel...er...Vincent Goes West

It's official. We're on our way to the Pacific, and Matty G has graciously elected to come and help us not die along the way. Scorching sun and smokey skies await us all.

Our first stop? Brandon, Iowa! Where we celebrated Stephen Lindley's birthday in the most elegant of fashions. By visiting the world's (actually just Iowa's) largest frying pan. Yes indeed, this baby can fry up 528 eggs at once, thereby creating an omelet capable of engulfing the four smaller Plagiarists, or one larger keyboardist, in a warm yolky blanket. Happy birthday, Stephen. Hope Space Camp: Turkey is treating you well.

Matty G is a welcome edition to our pentagon of plagiarism. Mainly because he brought his Gameboy along. So far today he's captured a Squirtle, and Caterpie on a certain, unmentionable WB-television-show-themed game (no, not this one!), and crushed my little brother's high score on Tetris. It's going to be a good trip.


On our way south, we encountered a truck filled with pigs. This, in itself was kind of funny. But all our lives were made better after Mike saw that the company was called TransPork. Bringing beef to America. This was strangely preceded by a chorus rendition of the National Anthem, complete with harmonies which...I think... was ironic...


Tonight we play in Iowa City at the Picador. Doors are at 10.
We play with Capes of Lead and Illegal Smile.

Hope to see all of you Iowans out there!


-ew

We Love Erik E. Martz

The king himself returns again to City Pages with a glowing review of Sigur Ros' new album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust. Scope it here.

-dw

BOW TO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kanye can get away with post titles like that, so heck, I thought I'd give it a whirl. No? OK. I promise it won't happen again (wink). If the rest of the Brendan Canning album is as solid as this lead single, "Hit The Wall," it may trump his BSS cohort Kevin Drew's solo album of last year, both a part of the Broken Social Scene Presents project. Too bold? Check it out.

-dw

New Death Cab video - "Cath..."

The Cutie boys get their Graduate on for the new "Cath..." video. This could just be me, but group lip-syncing comes across more affectively when multiple vocal parts are involved, as opposed to the lone lead. The track is still an '08 favorite nevertheless. Watch here.

-dw

A few really, really cute kittens!!

As a general rule, I hold the belief that cats are hell-spawn put onto the earth to kill and maim everything in their way. But these little kitties are just so darn cute I can't look away!




Source: Gawker

-ew

Literal Scene Review

A very generous album review. Check it out here.

-dw

New Bloc Party

A Vincent Van Blog exclusive!



Not actually a VVB exclusive. I'm just a dreamer.

-dw

'Literal Scene' now on iTunes

If you're itchy to listen to Literal Scene and want to cut out the frustration and/or awkwardness of dealing with an actual human being to get your hands on the music, today is your lucky day. The album is now available on iTunes for a measly $9.99, a penny less than what what we charge (how do they do it?), so you have no excuse not to check it out.

If you're looking for some FREE Plagiarists love (and who isn't?) make sure to check out 89.3 The Current's Song of the Day Podcast for a free download of "Wooden Horses" tomorrow, July 4th. If there's a better way to celebrate our nation's birth, I don't want to hear it. Okay, okay. Tubing, grilling, and eating red, white, and blue Jello is probably close in enjoyment. Anyways, if you don't subscribe to the podcast, you can do that here.

Remember: be safe and always make sure to wear your life vest. Happy 4th!

-dw

Too Good To Be True?

Every so often a film announcement comes along with such a seemingly perfect casting and teaming of ingenious creative visionaries that there's absolutely no way their efforts wouldn't create the best movie of all time. Unfortunately, history often proves differently. For the time being, let's all hope and pray the pairing of Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen for a comedic revamping of 'Sherlock Holmes,' produced by Judd Apatow, will deliver to the extent that it ought to. Baron Cohen is set to play the lead and Ferrell is to play Watson, Holmes' noble sidekick. That alone is one of the most ridiculous images ever to have entered my noggin and I'll be severely distraught if this isn't the comedy of the decade. Please don't hurt me again, Hollywood.

Full story here.

-DW

New No Age Video

Check out the new video for No Age's "Eraser." Now one of the best songs of 2008 also earns a ranking in the 'best videos' category. Slow motion, brightly-colored balloons, and giant papier-mâché skulls are hard to beat. Duly noted.




-DW

Lay off me, I'm starving!

There's nothing like a super hero dog to get the Christmas season started!



-ew

Why So Serious?

OK. So the The Dark Knight looks unreal. We all know that. The release date is finally at an attainable distance (just shy of a fortnight, baby!) and I couldn't possibly think the internal hype that has been festering inside of me could grow any higher. That was until I saw this. My God. Possibly the most intense movie poster ever created (possibly), not to mention absolutely terrifying. Did they get the Saw promoters to handle this one or what?

Love from the Music Slut

Being somewhat of an unhealthy nut for music and pop culture blogs, having the latest Plagiarists shout-out coming from The Music Slut is a pretty big deal for us. Not only did we get a mention, we were a part of their Manic MP3 Monday. Check it out!

-DW

Speaking of Kicks...

Expect all of us to be equipped with these later this summer. Well, at least Brendan anyway.

You couldn't make them auto-lace, Nike? Maybe we actually have to wait until 2015 for that technological advancement. I guess Velcro will have to continue servicing my laziness for now.

-DW

French Kicks on Daytrotter

Plagiarists' favorite French Kicks recently floated into the Daytrotter studios for a live session this past Friday and is available for your downloading pleasure. Although they're not particularly as spot-on as they are in concert, it's still worth checking out to get another taste of their new (and one of the year's best) album, Swimming.

If you need more convincing, check out this album review from the King of Cool himself, Erik E. Martz.