The Muslims change their name...

the San Diego based band is now called THE SOFT PACK.

ugh. how very uncontroversial. I am a tad bit disappointed but I love them all the same.

visit the band on their new MYSPACE page

The Soft Pack - Extinction [mp3]

Band of the Week: The Muslims

this band is fantastic. there is no way around it. I have not yet had the opportunity to see them play live, but I hear that they have an incredible stage presence, much like the Strokes. The San Diego band is said to emanate an aura of indifference but perform with incredible precision and passion.

The Muslims stray away from the big, over produced sound that mainstream music has unfortunately embraced. They are raw, they make great songs. Mr Strummer would be proud.

they've been getting some attention from blogs lately, which is good. their music deserves to be heard by more people. they recently played CMJ

for fans of: The Strokes, early Clash, Sublime

The Muslims - Extinction [mp3]

The Muslims - Bright Side [mp3]

The Muslims - Nightlife [mp3]

visit them on MYSPACE

they have a handful of shows in CA right now, this makes me incredibly happy:

Nov 3 2008 8:00P
MAYAN THEATRE w/ LAST SHADOW PUPPETS Los Angeles, California
Nov 8 2008 8:00P
DETROIT BAR w/ Japanese Motors, Tijuana Panthers Costa Mesa
Nov 14 2008 8:00P
SLIMS w/ The Breeders San Francisco, California
Nov 15 2008 8:00P
SLIMS w/ The Breeders San Francisco, California
Nov 16 2008 8:00P
THE ECHO- PART TIME PUNKS FEST Los Angeles, California
Nov 17 2008 8:00P
THE WILTERN w/ The Breeders Los Angeles, California
Dec 5 2008 8:00P
RICKSHAW w/ The Morning Benders San Francisco, California

The Muslims add more tour dates

don't mind their controversial name which induces many online wars, these guys make good music.

Aug 4 KING KING Los Angeles, California*
Aug 6 THE ECHO Los Angleles, California
Aug 8 A WAREHOUSE Costa Mesa, California
Aug 9 TOWER BAR San Diego, California
Aug 16 SPACELAND Los Angeles, California
Aug 18 BOWERY BALLROOM New York, New York**
Aug 19 BOWERY BALLROOM New York, New York***
Aug 20 UNION POOL Brooklyn, New York^
Aug 21 Dunderdon New York, New York
Aug 23 12 GALAXIES San Francisco, California
Sep 4 BOTTOM OF THE HILL w/ The Night Marchers San Francisco
Sep 5 MUSICFEST NW Portland, Oregon
Sep 19 STREET SCENE San Diego, California

*w/ Cheeseburger
** w/ The Walkmen, Frances
*** w/ The Walkmen, Mac St Michael
^ w/ The Howlies
^^ w/ The Night Marchers

The Muslims - Extinction [mp3]

visit them on MYSPACE

The Muslims are on tour

I heard about this cool San Diego, CA based band during SXSW this year. They are very Velvet Underground-esque, only a bit more accessible to today's generation.

they will be playing the following dates:

June 13 @ Cake Shop (w. The Browns, So So Glos)
June 15 @ the Dunderdon store in Chinatown/SoHo (w. The Browns)
June 16 @ Mercury Lounge - 8pm (w. Afterhours, Young Punx)
June 17 @ The Market Hotel (The Browns, So So Glos)
June 18 @ DC9 Washington DC
June 19 @ Santos' Party House (Vice Party)
June 20 @ Union Pool (w. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Suckers, Wild Yaks)
June 21 @ The Castle In Hell (House show w. HTR)
July 1 @ THE CASBAH w/ The Modey Lemon San Diego, California
July 2 @ THE ECHO w/ The Modey Lemon Los Angeles, California
July 24 @ THE KNOCKOUT w/ Crocodiles San Francisco, California


The Muslims - On My Time [mp3]

In other, less happy news, R Kelly was acquitted for the whole child pornography thing. wow, just wow.

Also, I am pretty upset with Rolling Stone's new cover
don't get me wrong, I think Chris Martin and/or the rest of Coldplay belong in the spotlight right now, seeing as how their new record is pretty damn great and they're a huge band, but I hate that RS called Martin a "Rock G-d". they seem to be throwing that term around pretty loosely lately.

On a brighter note, Beck's new record, Modern Guilt, will be out July 7th! the track list is as follows:

“Orphans”
“Gamma Ray”
“Chemtrails”
“Modern Guilt”
“Youthless”
“Walls”
“Replica”
“Soul of a Man”
“Profanity Prayers”
“Volcano”

two consecutive days of awesome records (Como Te Llama comes out on the 8th). sweetness.