Visually there's not much happening here, but the audio is pretty solid for "fan-filmed footage." God, remember when Arctic Monkeys were new? They must all be like 23 by now.

I will never understand why "Alan Partridge" didn't make it on these shores while "David Brent" did, but whatever, more for me I guess. Unless they don't release the movie in this country, in which case I will be pissed. Anyway, here's the official preview. Alpha Papa is out in Britain on August 16th. If you're over there maybe tape it with your phone and send it to me. Thanks.

I love love love Desire Lines, the new Camera Obscura record, but until they put out some kind of promotional video this will have to do. Seriously, get the album—"New Year's Resolution" is a nearly foolproof cure for a foul mood.

There's so little that brings me joy these days, but this band always does. Whenever I'm like, "Eh, fuck rock," a quick hit from these guys makes it all okay. The new album is great, you should get it. That is all.

Do people still get worked up over Vampire Weekend? There seemed to be a lot of Internet angst and aggravation accorded to their first two records, but hopefully everyone has come around to the idea that there are any number of more important things to be exasperated about. Anyway, their new video "features some major indie star power… the Ivy League rockers manage to run off an impressive list of dinner guests that includes Sky Ferreira, Santigold, both members of Chromeo, Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth and The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser." If you can identify all of those people then you have almost certainly found someone better to be [...]

Young people, you know how your elders are always trying to convince you that aging isn't as terrible as you think because the passage of time provides you with a certain caliber of wisdom otherwise unavailable to those who have not accumulated the years of experience required of which to collect it? Don't believe them, it's a lot of bullshit. I mean, yes, you do develop a degree of discernment and detachment, but what nobody tells you is that just because you finally realize that things don't matter doesn't mean that they don't still hurt. Understanding that there are certain dreams it is almost certainly too late for you [...]

Camper Van Beethoven's unlikely major label debut Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart was released 25 years ago today. It is older than some people you know. Soon you will die.

You ever get the feeling that Martin Scorsese is never gonna get over losing out to Dances With Wolves and Kevin Costner at the Oscars twenty-odd years ago?

If you are a white man in or approaching your 40s, you might want to clear your calendar around the end of the summer.

"[S]everal sites are posting this trailer for Spook Central, which appears to be a feature-length study of Ghostbusters (yes, Ghostbusters) done in the same voice-over-and-clip style as Room 237. Are these theorists and their crazy notions legit—or is the whole thing an elaborate spoof of Room 237? What’s more, is this trailer the entire end game? It’s worth noting that there is no IMDb page for Spook Central, or even an official site; indeed, the only Google hits for 'Ghostbusters Spook Central documentary' are movie sites posting the trailer." —This thing goes all the way to the top!

It may be too bright and sunny out for this song to really work right now. I'll try it again once the rain starts to fall.

Oh God so glad someone wrote the "who is that suck-up kiddo on "Mad Men" story. I personally think he's just a douchey climber, but really it's just as likely that he's a time-traveling COINTELPRO smoke monster.

Would you like a 3D version of the cover to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures? Here's how! I mean, I guess; all this stuff is like someone from the future trying to explain the way life is lived in their world to me. [Via]

Hands up who remembers 1998!

"my new book is called if u dont love the moon your an ass hole: poems and selfies, it comes out june 25th! it’s a very small/cute book, yet its much 'longer' than my other books in terms of word count. the goal of this book is to make you excited to be alive" —Ladies and gentlemen, "the first 21st-century poet."

"George Orwell's '1984' Sales Skyrocket in Wake of NSA Spying Scandal"

It is probably best not to think about how awesome this song was when it was new, because wow was that ever a long time ago and you will never be that young again. [Via]

Though there are some songs of his I genuinely love ("You Woke Up My Neighborhood," "A New England," "The Tears Of My Tracks"), I generally feel like I appreciate Billy Bragg more than I enjoy him. This one's not bad, though, kind of slow and sad, and it features "a host of British comedy legends." Phill Jupitus, Stewart Lee, Neil Morrissey, Ross Noble, Kevin Eldon, Ricky Grover, Samuel West, Johnny Vegas… they're all here. Enjoy.

"Reading ten of her collections in a row has induced in me not a glow of admiration but a state of mental torpor that spread into the rest of my life. I became sad, like her characters, and like them I got sadder. I grew attuned to the ways life is shabby or grubby, words that come up all the time in her stories, as well as to people’s residential and familial histories, details she never leaves out. How many rooms are in the house, and what sort of furniture and who used to own it and what is everybody wearing? To ask these questions is to live your life [...]

It has been pretty amazing to watch the evolution of Julia Holter's work over the last, what has it been, only two years? I cannot believe she will ever reach a point where she is "mainstream," but I can certainly see her pulling whatever "mainstream" is closer to what she does. Anyway, she's got a new album coming in August and this is on it.