The New Dark Ages

You Wanna Go Out?

2008-08-28T11:12:00.002-04:00

TONIGHT!

SILVER JEWS @ MILO

617 East Third Ave.
Columbus, OH 43201
614-294-0450

$13/$15 18+

DOORS @ 7:30PM

I am really excited for this - as you may remember, the NDA officially launched with a Silver Jews show at Little Brother's back in 2006 - expect a review of the performance and the new album sometime in the next few days.

The Poundcast: In the Mix Featuring DJ Douggpound

2008-08-27T13:36:00.001-04:00

S:BWWEXXVII: England Dan and John Ford Coley

2008-08-24T19:36:00.002-04:00

I've been looking for their record "Nights Are Forever" for like two effing years now. Yesterday I found it at the Volunteers of America Thrift on Indianola. Best 50 cents I've spent since I got that soda once (that time when I was super thirsty).

This is soft rock at its finest. I can't get enough. Your vidjeo:

NDA 900 Number of the Week

2008-08-12T16:42:00.001-04:00

The Count Down is on...

2008-08-11T13:58:00.002-04:00

It's Always Sunny Season 4 September 18th!

An Eye-Witness Account of She & Him

2008-08-05T13:14:00.004-04:00

By now you know the back story to She & Him - it’s the campy collaboration of actress Zooey Deschanel and indie-rock troubadour M. Ward - and you’re excited to see if they can pull off the California-based harmonies live (hint: uh huh, oh yeah). Well, they brought their compelling act, complete with band, to a sold-out Wexner Center’s Black Box Performance Space on Monday night.

I honestly wasn’t in the best place personally going in, but I had a fun time. It was refreshing to see an act completely devoid of irony, just wearing it all on their poofy vintage dress sleeve.

You had a feeling going in that Zooey would have a magical, magnetic way about her and she definitely didn’t disappoint. But, as much as her booming vocals were “the real deal” it was her in-between song awkwardness and general air of naiveté that made her such a charmer - this was no conceited Hollywood starlet - you felt like you were watching an unsure friend play a house show completely unaware of just how great they had become.

Many of her songs deal with the complexities of love, loss, etc. Her plaintively real lyrics have a way of kicking you in the gut, especially if you’re in any sort of lovelorn spot, but in the end it always feels more like an ode to staying positive and appreciating the moment/moments as opposed to some sort of emotional beatdown. In other words, this is not heavy-handed stuff, just honest songwriting at its best.

As for M. Ward, the dude can wield an axe (if you can even use that phrase in regards to playing old country, camp and 60’s doo-wop music). His virtuosic style is attention-grabbing, but he doesn’t overplay or hog the limelight. He just knows all the right spots to bang on that Bigsby.

The backing band was filled-out with a talented cast of friends and seasoned veterans, including the wild-haired old guy multi-instrumentalist, the seriously kick-ass pregnant bass player, the handsome young drummer and the eternally optimistic hippie-back-up vocalist (Becky Stark, who also opened the show with a ridiculously genuine solo set) who Zooey at one point called “her favorite singer.” They all played their roles beautifully, especially when Stark described Earth as “the greatest planet in the whole World.”

Talking to a friend after the show she described the performance as “lovely.” It’s a simple word that really defines the She & Him experience - from songs to presentation - perfectly.

Pizza Slayer Blogs

2008-08-04T18:32:00.003-04:00

It's a new week and I just wanted to take a moment to stand up and make an important announcement. But first let me preface the announcement by saying that we here at the NDA have been keeping a very close (almost watchful) eye on a local pizza blog that sure has been creating a lot of buzz lately amongst our well-worn underground pizza circle. I'm sure you've already heard about these new guys and their blog, but let me be the first to say that thankfully this is a case where the hype definitely meets the expectations and then exceeds them and flips them on their end and folds them and dunks them in some sauce and eats them. Without further ado, I'd like to welcome Lt. Hinze, Dave, Greasy Fingers and their entire extraordinary team of Pizza Slayers to the official blog section of the NDA (just to your right there). Take their word as pizza gold and then take it to the pizza bank!

Hope Everyone is Having That Nice Weekend!

2008-08-03T02:28:00.005-04:00

This is a video by Crowded House that came out almost a year ago. Being in America we don't normally get to see music videos on television. I completely missed this until tonight. As Bobby would like to put it.. this was a "FAIL." I love Crowded House so I would like to try and correct this "Fail" right now. This album "dropped" about a year ago. Ok I have been drinking with Bobby and Sean tonight (by the way happy birthday Sean) so I am going to "bounce."

This Week At Movie

2008-07-31T22:27:00.003-04:00

I think you guys are really gonna like this one it is a politically charged one and it has Fern's favorite actor as the main protestant, Kevin Costner. It is really important this year with the election and stuff coming up. Take a long hard look in the mirror and then watch this trailer.

Tim & Eric Season 3 Starts This Night!

2008-07-27T17:29:00.002-04:00

As if we even had to tell you, yeh. Hot Pizza Party - you know where!

NDA MOVIE TRAILER OF THE WECE

2008-07-24T20:44:00.001-04:00

Atari's reimagined trailer for the suspense thriller White Fury.

Do You Want To Believe?

2008-07-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

Your Wild And Wacky Wednesday

2008-07-23T15:53:00.002-04:00

Hey friends! Hinze turned me on to this really kool website blog that covers Project Runway! Ex-New Dark Ages fashion mogul/consultant, Martha (you may remember she used to have a typepad here about small animals), is one of the sassy young professionals running Project Stunway. Check it out (is that our own Sam Craighead featured in an exclusive Project Stunway interview giving insider information on Project Runway Season Five contestant, Kelli Martin!?!?) and be sure to tune in to Project Runway each and every Wednesday night at 9pm on Bravo TV - Where Magic Happens!

Tim and Eric Season 3 Starts Sunday Peppers!

2008-07-23T13:46:00.000-04:00

R.I.P

2008-07-22T14:36:00.003-04:00

That woman from Stop or My Mom will Shoot died today. She was 84.

Your Tuesday TV Report

2008-07-22T12:59:00.001-04:00

I guess the folks down at NBC were thinking about doing a spin-off of The Office, but have since decided to just do a new show from the executive producer of The Office that has nothing to do with The Office even though it will air on Thursday nights right after The Office and is said to be a “workplace comedy.”

Anyway, guess who is slated to headline the new show? That’s right, The New Dark Ages own Amy Poehler! Oh, BTW, NBC Entertainment co-chairman, Ben Silverman, says the new show might also include "existing Office characters." But, it is NOT a spin-off of The Office, so don’t even go there girlfriends.

Your Weekend Xanadu Update

2008-07-19T12:20:00.002-04:00

Okay, a couple things...

So, if you weren't paying attention, I guess they made this movie into a Broadway musical or somethin', which has been going strong for about a year now and was nominated for several Tony awards. At this hour, some shocking news out of New York: apparently it has just been announced that Whoopi "Fudging" Goldberg is joining the cast. I don’t pretend to know anything about theatre, but it is common knowledge that Whoopi can’t rollerskate. WTF, Xanadu Producers!?

Also, I guess they just re-released this on DVD accompanied with a re-mixed, re-mastered version of the soundtrack (on compact disc). I'm interested to hear the tunes, but can you really justify buying Xanadu on DVD twice in a single lifetime. The answer is yes. With Jeff Lynne all things are possible.

Have a jay weekend!

A Vodka Movie #3

2008-07-16T16:52:00.001-04:00

Yacht Rock #3: I'm Alright

2008-07-16T12:17:00.001-04:00

Carter's Movie Trailer of the Week

2008-07-14T19:52:00.002-04:00

Atari's movie trailer for a new hot movie called Loce & Loan

Loce this Boby!

S:BWWEXXVI Part Two: Peace Signs, Don't Forget Your Peace Signs

2008-07-13T02:23:00.004-04:00

This juy (from the famous Jeff Lynne vidjeo) has me in stitches.

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You'll tune in tomorrow, right?

S:BWWEXXVI Part One: It's so nice to know that there are other people in the world as idiotic as we are

2008-07-13T00:15:00.004-04:00

Go ahead and file this under "things I discovered on YouTube by mistake while I was looking for something else". Make sure you make it to the end. It is a treasure.

See you tomorrow!

EMERALDS- SOLAR BRIDGE

2008-07-10T16:41:00.000-04:00

My biases are so far reaching when it comes to the thriving ohio noise.exp.drone.etc scene that you could hardly trust any of my statements. I believe that what many of these bands are doing is very special and more importantly- fun. Do some of these dudes take themselves too seriously? Maybe. Do fans and naysayers take this stuff too seriously? Maybe. Are these good reasons not to listen to it? I don't think so. I myself have been guilty of this naked skepticism- and I'm just not sure it matters all that much.

That said, EMERALDS have released what might be one of the best albums of the year with SOLAR BRIDGE on Hanson Records. This is a drone album that entrances and energizes simultaneously. The trio have developed a mastery of layering and looping which to most of us just hasn't been a big deal since the post rock explosion of the late 90's and early 00's. It's where the guys take this mastery thats makes them so special. Making outer space a personal experience is no easy task when you have listeners who don't do psychedelics anymore (like me). Like some humble godsend, EMERALDS emerge from where bands like Yume Bitsu and Surface of Eceon left off. As these youngsters grow and continue to make a name for themselves with killer live shows and increasingly accessible releases like SOLAR BRIDGE, I'm hardly going to have to defend my faith in this odd "genre" of music everyone (including me) so quickly makes conclusions about.

On The Internet Video Embed: "Since You Been Gone"

2008-07-09T22:18:00.004-04:00

Rainbow, muthafuckas!!!

Carter's Movie Trailer of the Week

2008-07-08T12:41:00.001-04:00

Soultaker