Miss California and Perez Hilton

I think this might be the best response I’ve heard to the incident between Miss California and Perez Hilton. I thought the Miss USA contestant was just being inarticulate, but the time traveler theory makes perfect sense!

You can watch Jay Smooth’s other videos at illdoctrine.com.

Tinted Windows Releases Debut Album

It’s been a couple months since the world first heard about Tinted Windows, the supergroup comprised of Taylor Hanson, James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. That might seem like an unlikely combination, but it’s not as odd as it appears. In an interview with Spin, Adam explains that he first became friends with Taylor in 1996 while Hanson was working on Middle of Nowhere. Years later, Adam attended one of Hanson’s songwriting retreats in Tulsa, and the two sat down and wrote the group’s first song, “Take Me Back.” Guitarist James Iha, who co-owns a recording studio with Adam, became involved, and the trio started searching for a drummer. Thinking it was a long shot, they decided to get in touch with Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, who liked the music and agreed to take part.

Since then, the group has performed at SXSW and released a self-titled debut album, which they are busy promoting. On Tuesday night, they appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and performed their single, “Kind Of A Girl.” They are scheduled to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.

Taylor told Rolling Stone that the group aims to deliver “lots of guitars, pure songs and simple production.” It’s fun, catchy pop music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Here is the video for “Messing With My Head”:

Meanwhile, Taylor’s other group, Hanson, is hard at work at their next album and will be touring in the fall. You can follow Hanson on Twitter for updates.

And I’m Back

It’s been a while since I posted, but now that I have a working computer I’m going to try to post more often. So, some updates…

On May 3, I’ll be participating in Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here. It’s my first year doing the walk, so I’m looking forward to it.

Exciting news: Joss Whedon announced plans for a Dr. Horrible sequel. According to Sci Fi Wire, there is a possibility that it could end up being a feature film, but nothing has been decided yet.

More exciting news: On Tuesday, Tinted Windows released their self-titled debut album, which you can stream here. As a longtime Hanson fan, it’s really cool to see Taylor collaborating with different artists. I’ll write more in a separate post.

I’ll end with a video by Matt and Kim, who I had a chance to see when they opened for Cut Copy at the House of Blues (formerly Avalon) in Boston last month. I don’t think I’ve seen a pair of musicians more enthusiastic than these two. The crowd was equally energetic and started moshing, prompting me to move to a quieter corner of the venue, but it was still a fun show. Kim, whose family was present, told the audience about how her brother, a DJ, used to sneak her out of the house to go to Avalon when she was younger. Here is the video for Daylight:

Also, happy belated Earth Day!