This Just In...

If you haven't heard already, Al Franken has been declared the winner of his respective state's senate seat in Congress by Minnesota's Supreme Court. This could be the game changer for the Democratic party to pass policy without a hint of opposition. Who would have thought a former SNL member could be a senator? Only in America!

Al Franken Article

Michael Jackson Is Dead... And We Killed Him

Everyone is talking about it, and I do mean everyone. It's the biggest news of the decade practically, even bigger than Iran's slow burning revolution. The King of Pop is dead.

There was never a time in my life where Michael Jackson was not a figurehead. By my birth both Off The Wall and Thriller had been released and his dance moves already ingrained in the world's collective unconsciousness. I grew up with Jackson being a larger than life and completely unreachable figure. And I guess that's one of the problems I'm having with all of the coverage of his death. How does one really talk about someone who is known all over the world? How do you report on the most famous person ever?

I know some people may argue with the idea of Michael Jackson's at this uber-popular figure, but those people are bullshitting themselves. Even his exes have admitted there is no place with even slight public access that he could go without being mobbed, literally. Think of how much attention the media gives (or is claimed to give) our current president. . . now imagine having that same amount of attention since age 11 and it increasing exponentially to the point where you have to have more on hand bodyguards than the President of the United States while still in your early 20's. And now do that for almost 30 years straight.

Michael was famous amongst famous people. I remember watching MTV, the station he once had a symbiotic relationship with, and seeing that the stars of the evening, N*Sync (during their heyday) were trembling at having briefly performed with Jackson, and backstage tried to get his autograph.

Look at the reports on his life and his death; No one can really get a grip with who he was as a person. They either focus exclusively on his music or his eccentricities, and they have a hard time reconciling that he had a life. He had children, he had marriages, he had friends, he had numerous pets, he gave to charities, he took up world causes, he was influenced by religion, and shit and eat and breathed just like the rest of us. But in our minds it just won't compute. The figurehead of Thriller can't just be a real person can he?

We made him a recluse. We didn't give him our empathy while he was alive unless he was on stage. He retreaded to his own massive world when he wasn't performing; A world that by all accounts was not based in reality. So we let him be alienated and preyed on him for it, a person whose self esteem was already precariously low by all standards.

Look at how much love R. Kelly got during his pretty unambiguous criminal allegations. Look at how we tolerate all sorts of crack addictions among our other entertainers. Michael was only good to us when he was singing and dancing, that's what we implicitly said and that's what the news has all but stated as we remember his life. It's a sad sad thing that we let one of the treasures of the 20th century die much before his time, but i guess this is just one more reminder about how humanity in general and America in particular treat the things that matter to us and add to our lives.

Watch Yr Head Extravaganza pt 8!

Once again! Featuring fine folks such as:

TENDABERRY
(myspace.com/tendaberry)

TEENAGE ILLITERATES
(myspace.com/teenageilliterates)

HAT PARTY
(members of the long shadows)

DOZIER GENESIS

Dupe on a Hoop
(formerly the Concentration Camp Counselors)

and others soon to be announced!

BYOB and Friends!

Start Time:	Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 9:00pm
End Time:	Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 3:00am
Location:	Watch Yr Head House
Street:	166 eleanor street
City/Town:	Atlanta, GA

T-Swizzle and T-Pizzle

Taylor Swift and T-Pain collaborating to manufacture "Thug Story" for the CMT Awards intro...I'm not sure if I think this is cute and endearing or if it's a sign for 2012. All in all, the video should at least have a view or two.

Jeepers Creepers Conan

Is Max Weinberg really as creepy as CoCo (Conan O'Brien) makes him out to be? Let's watch!

In Other News....

Good friend Janelle Monae was profiled today in NPR's Fresh Air. Check it out.

Sesame Street

Last night I was dealing with my usual insomnia at 3 in the morning and trying to come up with sitcom ideas. To find inspiration, I began to view a Feist video on youtube called "Gatekeeper". After being enraptured with Leslie's voice and the smooth tone of her guest bugle player's horn, I came across to a link of Leslie Feist performing "1,2,3,4" on Sesame Street. I thought *This is a must see! Two of my favorite things in the world; Muppets from my childhood and Leslie Feist!*

I took a gander at the footage and I realized how many stars have wondered into the Sesame Street Universe. Notable persons such as Buzz Aldrin, Julia Roberts, and Stevie Wonder. Even the modern heroes in entertainment and beyond such as Natalie Portman, Beyonce, and Tina Fey have made appearances on the show.

I realized that when a person has truly "made it" in whatever industry and their star quality permeates throughout the country, they will eventually become a guest star on Sesame Street. Hanging out with Big Bird, helping Elmo cross the street, and eating cookies at a feverish pace with the Cookie Monster is something that should be taken as a credit to one's work. It's a plus to be on the cover of Forbes Magazine, or being asked to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field, but being honored with having your visage immortalized for a television institution that has been shaping children since 1969 is something in itself.

Happy Birthday Prince

Joy In Repetition - Prince

He's an obvious influence to the guys in Tendaberry and the folks here at Trivial Design. He's a master songwriter and musician, the most underrated guitarist ever, and just damn cool. There are artists you can listen to often and you're fine with that, other artists you can listen to daily and you have no problems. With Prince you can listen to his music all the time, anytime, because his repertoire is so diverse there is something for everybody at anytime. If you don't listen to Prince you don't listen to music.

So if by chance you read this your purply highness, we need someone to produce the L.P. and take us on a national tour... How much more begging do we have to do?

Dear Billy Corgan,

We here at Trivial Design are longtime fans. We even gave Zwan a chance for a little while until we discovered it was The Smashing Pumpkins lite (Paz Lenchatin was a huge selling point). And I personally thoroughly enjoyed "Superchrist" for all its grandiose feel.

But we really think that unless you do something hella awesome really soon, we'd all rather you disappear quietly until a full band reunion can happen, because, well, you're embarrassing us and yourself, especially when the Silversun Pickups is out there making the type of music you should be making.

That's not to say they have bitten off your style completely. No, elements of your Siamese Dream and Gish days are present along with a healthy dose of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. But this LA band has unpretentiously melded snappy lyrics with Brain Aubert's distinct vocals to a melodious, droning guitar-driven music with fantastic bass and drum accompaniment.

We thoroughly enjoy listening to their albums and seeing them live, as they always give us our money's worth. We feel "There's No Secrets This Year" should be as popular as "Cherub Rock" while at the same time don't want the band to get too popular otherwise have to see them with screaming teenage girls with too much makeup at an amphitheater (they and their sullen looking waifs of boyfriends can discover good music when they've all mellowed out a bunch).

Mr. Corgan we think the album you meant to make was Swoon, Silversun Pickups' second LP and that maybe your loneliness after Jimmy Chamberlain left or inability to make James Iha clean your toes has made you go a bit crazier than before (and you were absolutely batshit before). We understand your pain but at the same time are excited and amazed at the fact that the Pickups' Swoon is a better album than their debut LP album Carnavas.

Despite the fact they aren't as angsty as you were (or are) we enjoy them mightily. As your audience we've grown up a bit and don't need every song to be a veiled reference to how much life sucks anymore; that's why we have Jon Stewart.

So please Mr. Corgan, don't emerge from your lair in Chicago until you have done something cool and grown up, or at least made amends with James. Until then we're gonna enjoy the band you should have formed back in 2001.

They are really awesome.

Sincerely,
Your fans at Trivial Design

PRINCE TRIBUTE SHOW!!!

A full night of all the greatest hits and rarities of Prince will be played all night by your favorite local bands such as Madam CJ, The 54, The Lost Boys, etc) including Tendaberry. Come and hear some of your most beloved Prince covers. You may hear/see a surprise or two. It's something that can't be missed.

Doors open at 9! Show starts at 10!

$5 donations going to Saint Francis' Table Atlanta

Start Time:	Friday, June 12, 2009 at 9:00pm
End Time:	Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 3:00am
Location:	THE STAR COMMUNITY BAR
Street:	437 Moreland Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30307
City/Town:	Atlanta, GA

Trends And Such

Yeah we're a music blog... so the fuck what?

So check out these trailers here; Do you see what they have in common?

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) (Theatrical Trailer #2)
Uploaded by NakedBrotha2007. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

All these videos use music from deep dark rock bands. In the cases I've pointed out two from Nine Inch Nails and the other from A Perfect Circle, although i should add the music of the APC track was done by Danny Lohner, a former member of NIN during it's heyday.

So does anyone else out there realize that major studio companies are using music from artists who have a history of giving away their product for free?

Besides all that it is suffice to say that this industrial-metal-alternative blend is going to keep showing up in movie trailers to add ambiance for awhile; I just wish it didn't become apart of some meathead's work out list as this happens...

Kim Gordon Redux

Seriously though I can't leave you with just the one vid. This is by far one of my favorite Sonic Youth performances (with a bunch of extra people) and I feel I have to share.

This cover first appeared, in a slightly different fashion on the band's first full LP. Their sound at the time was still deeply embedded in the No Wave movement and because of that this song was perhaps their most accessible on Confusion Is Sex. My Mom still hates it when I play this album around her.

Sonic Youth - I Wanna Be Your Dog
by UniversalMusicGroup

Tenda Berries Make Fine Wine: Kim Gordon

You've got to be a total idiot if you listen to rock music and are not at least acquainted with Sonic Youth's bassist and most photogenic vocalist.

I was shocked, SHOCKED I say, to realize that SY is releasing their 16th full studio album and that the band's ages are approaching the time where they could collect social security. Personally I have about half of their studio albums and each one is different and awesome.

When I first got into alternative music most of my new grungy looking friends were heavily into the indie scene, having already pledged their undying love to Nirvana and constant devotion to modest Mouse and Quasi, I went around the lot and started listening to Sonic Youth. The Choice was an easy one for me... SY's most notable single featured Chuck D, a welcome bridge from two seemingly unbridgeable musical landscapes at the time.

I am especially excited for this new Sonic Youth record because it sounds more like the Sonic Youth I first got into. And this is one of those bands who never disappoint live, the below clip is merely a smattering of what really goes on. And yes I enjoy seeing Kim Gordon bop around while doing vocalist duties and letting someone else handle the bass for awhile; although I gotta say she is a primary reason why women who can play the bass guitar is so damn hot.

And You May Hate Us After This:The Click- Hurricane, Captain Save-A-Hoe

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest is slightly crazy during this spring. A third of the time it's wet and cold and very winter like, another third it's warm (like low 70's), bright and the day begs you to go outside and play. The last third it's sunny, with a few clouds and welcoming, but a good 40 degrees outside so you are momentarily confused on how to dress. Ultimately you go with the tried an true jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. That type of day is today, and this type of day feels so like the Bay Area it hurts.

I want Ghirardelli Chocolate, clam chowder in french bread bowls, and the smell of the ocean... Man I miss the Bay. I grew up in Northern California, so I made frequent trips to S.F,. Berkeley, and Oakland and, when I got older, San Jose and Santa Cruz where my friends went to college. I also grew up with all of the Bay Area nineties rap.

These songs were far from my first introduction to E-40 and his extremely distinctive voice and flow, but it remains they are the foremost in my mind. They aren't great songs, and they painfully show their age, but they remain those type of songs that are really fucking equated with growing up, the place I first called home, when things were simpler before I had to worry about money, jobs, people, politics, time, etc.

Today you can barely get to The Bay from the central valley (Sacramento) in less than two hours due to the upswing of new suburbs surrounding both areas and the fuck-all-ness state of I-80. But the Bay's ignorant dumb as shit hyphy music travel with break neck speed all around NorCal and somehow (thankfully) stay and settles there (except for that ghostride buffoonery). And if you'll take note this is one of the least dumb songs of the Bay, which is probably why they have ingratiated themselves to me for this long.

Every time in Atlanta I miss being in a city that smells like the ocean... and that's usually when I'll play this music.

Conan on "Tonight"

It's been since February since Conan's last episode of "Late Night" on NBC. Things have been rearranged from that moment in television history. Jimmy Fallon is now the host of Conan's former position, Jay Leno will be hosting the "Jay Leno Show" at 10 pm, and Conan shall be the ringmaster of all the "Tonight Show" activities.

Some think this will be an easy transition since his comedic prowess has grown over the past 16 years, and other think it may be a bad decision for Conan to move up to an earlier time slot with his off-kilter antics. All in all, it should be entertaining to watch. For more info read this current NY Times article about Conan's transition to being the new king of the late night talk show.

The "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" will make it's grand debut on June 1st at 11:30.