Jam of the Day: Phantogram - "Celebrating Nothing"

Gorgeous and lush track from Phantogram's upcoming self-titled EP being released next week. You can hear the track at Stereogum.com's website, here.

New: Charli XCX - "Superlove"

Fun, candy colored video from Charli XCX for the first single from her upcoming second album.

Non-Sequiturs

Sir, yes Sir!

Damn, that is one furry chest.

So darn cute.

Love this guy: so handsome, and killer body.

Big and beefy.

Blue collar fur.

Would love to explore that fur forest.

Love his banged up look, and that hot belly.

Nice guns.

Beautiful.

Yum.

Yes daddy!

Woof.

Drool.

A little lower please.

Nice frame.

Sexy bear in deep thought.

Yes, please.

Grrrrr.

More Grrrrr.

Love the furry belly.

Amazing everything.  Those pecs and gutters are to die for.

Hunky bubba.

This is just one gorgeous man.

Sexy silver fox.

I don't normally go for smooth, but damn.

Woof and Grrr and stuff.

Nice and lanky.

Just a hot man.

I think I had him up recently.  Too hot to pass up again.

Handsome with glasses.

Last weekend, I celebrated my friend Ray's 40th birthday with close friends in Las Vegas. It was the first time I had ever been, and here are my impressions:

It is never about what you do, where you go, how much money you spend, it is always about who you are there with. The friends we were with were amazing and made the whole trip special.

The hotels on The Strip are pretty amazing. We stayed at Aria, which is perhaps the most gorgeous hotel I have stayed at.

Our room was amazing: brilliant views of the City Center complex, which looked like something out of Blade Runner; everything in the room was automated, even the toilet; and the bed was like sleeping on a cloud.
Everything is expensive.

They charge you for everything. If they could somehow charge you for breathing air, they would.

Though everything looks close to each other, nothing really is.

Las Vegas is made specifically for straight people.

We went to see/hear Sander Van Doorn spin at the Marquee.  The club itself was phenomenal; great soundsystem, lights, lasers, confetti cannons.  Van Doorn spun some great music too, however, there was no "dancing" to speak of, most people just stood around and whooped.  And the club was packed to the gills with drunk people.  It was pretty difficult to circumvent them.

The most fun I had was well off the strip: a scooter tour of Red Rock Canyon was gorgeous, and a trip to a beer bust at a local gay bar was a blast.

I was surprised how poor most of the service was in Las Vegas. I guess once they have your money they just don't care.

I never got used to the fact you can smoke anywhere.  My clothes always smelled like smoke.

I also never got used to people gambling, smoking, drinking at every hour of the day and night.  Was odd walking to breakfast and seeing people at the slot machines and blackjack tables with a big cocktail in hand.

I am sure I would crap my pants.

At the rate I am going, I will be able to retire the day after I die.

What is up with all the 40 something brobrahs out there? Grow the fuck up.

My one piece of advice to give people is talk to everyone. As long as they are nice, respectful, and/or funny, I will talk to anyone, and some of the best conversations and ultimately friends I have made have come from following that logic.

Yup.

The traffic lights in Atlanta are seriously out of whack.

Andrew and I are heading to Folsom this weekend. Can't wait.

Friendships to me are two way streets. If someone does not understand that, I tend to get off at the next exit.

It always surprises me that Houston is our 4th largest city.

I'm also surprised at how much I like the Lorde album Pure Heroine.

LOL.

We watched the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion on the flight out to Las Vegas. It was a decent story line that eventually deteriorated into an incomprehensible mess.

A woman in front of me in line at Starbucks had a Hermes Birkin bag, which I sadly realized cost most than my car.

Have you ever had a friend that did one annoying thing to you and then subsequently everything they did just irritated the hell out of you?

Seriously, I don't need to see close up pictures of your wounds on Facebook.

This cracked me up.

Nothing better than getting a notification the day before I leave for vacation that American Express is lowering my credit limit. Thanks!

20 years after it was released, Nirvana's In Utero still holds up very well and, in fact, I would say it is an even better record than Nevermind.

I find it interesting when people use Facebook to present to the world a completely fabricated view of how their life is.

Yes, Kanye West is a complete douchebag, and half the time I wish he would just shut up, but damn he is a talented motherfucker. Yeezus is an amazingly complex record.

Your ridiculously cute for the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Fuck, I just woke up
It's a new morning
Oh shit, she's calling me
Who's this in our bed?
Why is she still asleep?
How do I ask her to leave?
Oh shit, she's calling me

I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
How did I forget you?
After all that we've been through
Said I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
All these years that we've been through
And I killed it in a night
I killed it in a night

It's too late, I can't take it back
'Cause guilt's like a stone
That I've thrown
I thought that I've grown
But I sink in my all
I'm a ruin of good times
And all the memories
I've left behind

I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
How did I forget you?
After all that we've been through
Said I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
All these years that we've been through
And I killed it in a night
I killed it in a night

She keeps calling me
But I can't pick up the phone
She keeps calling me
But I'm not alone
She keeps calling me
But I can't pick up the phone
If she keeps calling me, I'm gone
I'm gone
I'm gone

I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
How did I forget you?
After all that we've been through
Said I'm so fucked up
And this girl won't wake up
All these years that we've been through
And I killed it in a night."

Joel Compass
"Fucked Up"

"We're never done with killing time
Can I kill it with you?
'Til the veins run red and blue
We come around here all the time
Got a lot to not do let me kill it with you

You pick me up and take me home again
Head out the window again
We're hollow like the bottles that we drink
You drape your wrist over the steering wheel
Poses can drive from here
We might be hollow, but we're brave

And I like you
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)
We move in between streets
I'd like it if you'd stay

Now we're wearing long sleeves
And the heating comes on
(You buy me orange juice)
We're getting good at this
Dreams of clean teeth
I can tell that you're tired
But you keep the car on
While you're waiting out front."

Lorde
"400 Lux"

"I will carry you and give you life
I will cover you and show you the way
it’s a sequence that you never learned
it’s a lesson I will never forget
I can hear you in the overtones
just an echo of the promise we made
change the future, we can travel time
or make us blind so we can never look back
we can never look back

I’m the night sky
I’m the fire in your eye
I don’t want you now and for all time
I’m the cold heart
I’m the secret that you hide
I’ll be listening
until you decide

I communicate in simple streams
(take your time)
I’m the only one who gave you that truth
(speak to me)
once you leave me you are really gone
(far and near)
give me something to remember you by
(I’ll always be here)
all that’s here is what you left behind
(majesty)
slowly moving in the back of my mind
(can’t forget)
take a moment to remember me
(and I will)
and make me blind so I don’t ever look back (never look back)
only in your name
I will ne’er be free

I’m the night sky
I’m the fire in your eye
I don’t want you now and for all time
I’m the cold heart
I’m the secret that you hide
I’ll be listening
until you decide

I’m the night sky
I’m the fire in your eye
I don’t want you now and for all time
I’m the cold heart
I’m the secret that you hide
I’ll be listening
until you decide

I will ne’er be free."

Chvrches
"Night Sky"

Appealing Things

Joel Compass
Our hotel room at Aria
Until The Ribbon Breaks
Fun Hog Ranch
Kelly and Phil
Delta customer service

Annoying Things

People who get pissy when you don't have time to see them; as if we did it on purpose
American Express "customer service"
Drunk straight girls
Friends who message without intending to carry on a conversation

Criminally Overlooked: Young Galaxy - "New Summer"

Gorgeous, Balearic-tinged synthpop from this Canadian pop band should have been a huge hit this summer. Their latest record Ultramarine was just re-released in a deluxe edition with 12 additional tracks, including several new songs and some remixes. Do yourself a favor and get on board with this wonderful band.

Jam of the Day: Thumpers - "Unkinder (A Tougher Love)"

Deliriously catchy pop from the up and coming UK duo.

Cover: Martina Topley-Bird, Mark Lanegan, & Warpaint - "Crystalized (The xx cover)"

Dusky cover of The xx track "Crystalized" from former Tricky protege Martina Topley-Bird, Mark Lanegan, and Warpaint.

Video: Jon Hopkins ft. Purity Ring - "Breathe This Air"

This achingly beautiful collaboration between Jon Hopkins and Purity Ring gets an equally beautiful video (it is slightly NSFW) that takes two seemingly unrelated moments and finds that one instant in time where intersection creates different outcomes.

Video: Drake - "Hold On (We're Going Home)"

In the video for his hit single, Drake offers up a re-imagining of Miami Vice.

Jam of the Day: Say Lou Lou - "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Tame Impala Cover)"

Gorgeous cover of the Tame Impala song from the Aussie twin sisters.

Video: Autre Ne Veut - "Ego Free Sex Free"

Bizarre, stylized video from Autre Ne Veut. Best way to describe it is as if the "Around The World" video from Daft Punk was directed by Alain Renais and not Spike Jonze.

Remix: Disclosure ft. London Grammar - "Help Me Lose My Mind (Paul Woolford Remix)"

Producer Paul Woolford takes the lush track from Disclosure featuring the gorgeous vocals of London Grammar's Hannah Reid and turns the track into a sweet slice of house music with chunky beats and rolling piano loops. Good way to start off your day.

Jam of the Day: Jessica Agombar - "Double"

Former member of a short-lived girl group called Parade, Jessica Agombar joins the ranks of other pop meets R&B meets electronica artists coming from the UK with this frothy track.

Jam of the Day: Joel Compass - "Kiss Love Goodbye"

Dark, future R&B track from Joel Compass with some lurking dubstep influences. Love the atmosphere behind this moody track, which can be heard on his Astronaut EP.

Remix: Lady Gaga - "Applause (Purity Ring Remix)"

Never really expected a remix from Purity Ring, but their aesthetic actually works with the track surprisingly enough.

Videos of the Week

Heading to Vegas today for the first time; wish me luck. Here are some videos that distracted me while the week dragged on:



Solange Knowles dances through a mini-mall in this clip for the stunning mid-tempo ballad.



Tegan and Sara document how many ways you can dump someone without even seeing them face to face.



Simultaneously sensual and terrifying, this clip from buzzy new singer FKA twigs is hard to watch, but is equally hard to look away from.



Jonny Rogoff, the bearish drummer for Yuck, plays tennis with a very unstable older gentleman in this clip.



Another bizarre and weird clip from MGMT.



Bloody clip from PUP.



Cool animated clip from Kvelertak.