The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson Announces Solo Album

John K Samson

The Weakerthans’ frontman, John K. Samson, has announced a new solo album called Winter Wheat. The album will be out on October 21st. John sat down to talk with the AV Club about the new album, and stream “Postdoc Blues.”

And while Weakerthans fans have been held over by Samson’s 2012 solo album, Provincial, Winter Wheat has something that record didn’t: The Weakerthans rhythm section. Co-produced by [Jason] Tait—as well as Samson’s partner and collaborator, Christine Fellows—Winter Wheat sees three-fourths of The Weakerthans core turning up throughout the album.

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Sponsor: Win an Amazing Ibanez and Tama Prize Package

Disc Makers - Sponsor

Want to win over $5,000 in music gear and promo items from Disc Makers, Ibanez, and Tama? Of course you do. Nirvana, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rush — what do they all have in common? A guitar, a bass, and a drum kit, of course. Now you have the chance to add a triple threat setup to your own gear lineup with this massive prize package from Ibanez and Tama. Yes, the same Ibanez and Tama that players such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Mike Portnoy rock.

The grand prize trio includes:

  • Guitar: Ibanez Talman with Combo Amp and TSMINI tube screamer mini pedal
  • Bass: Ibanez Talman bass with 20 WATT 1 x 8 Combo Amp
  • Drums: Tama Imperialstar 5-piece drum kit with complete hardware and cymbals

And if that isn’t enough, you’ll also win a 1,000 CD production package from Disc Makers, digital music distribution from CD Baby, 100 custom t-shirts from Merch.ly, and more. Ok, no more reading, it’s time to go sign up right here.

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Review: Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls

Boys Like Girls

10 years ago, it didn’t seem like Boys Like Girls were going to be a band anyone cared about a decade after the fact. Skyrocketed to success by Purevolume and Myspace, Boys Like Girls seemed inextricably tied to the mid-2000s even when they were just getting started. You need only look at some of the bands Boys Like Girls toured with in those early days (Cute is What We Aim For, Hit the Lights, A Thorn for Every Heart) to get a sense for what could have happened to BLG 10 years after the arrival of their debut record. Essentially, they’d have a handful of fans but not a ton of respect or clout, and they’d be cashing in on nostalgia more than pushing things forward in their music careers. Or they wouldn’t exist in any form. One of the two.

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Elliotte Friedman on the Viral Michael Phelps Race Call

By now you’ve probably seen the viral video of a Canadian announcer messing up the call while Michael Phelps wins yet another gold medal. Michael Rosenberg spoke with the announcer for Sports Illustrated and it’s a master class in taking responsibility and dedication to your profession:

He only has two requests. One is that I write that if an athlete messed up like that, we would want the athlete to talk, and that’s why he is doing this. He is no hypocrite. The second request is that I put the mistake entirely on him. When I ask if a producer or production assistant was in his earpiece during the race, he bristles. It’s his fault, he says. Entirely his. Write it that way.

The Election Won’t Be Rigged. But It Could Be Hacked.

Technology

The New York Times:

As President Obama pointed out in a news conference last week, where he called charges of electoral rigging “ridiculous,” states and cities set up voting systems, not the federal government. That’s true, and it means the voting machine landscape is a patchwork of different systems, which makes the election hard to manipulate in a coordinated way.

But it’s still a bleak landscape.

Over the years, the team at Princeton, cooperating with other researchers, has managed to disable and tamper with many direct recording electronic systems that use touch-screen computers without a verifiable paper trail.

Sponsor: Thanks to the Descendents

Descendents

Once again I’d like to offer my thanks to the Descendents for sponsoring Chorus this week. The band released their brand new album (and first in over a decade), Hypercaffium Spazzinate, about two weeks ago and you should definitely go give it a listen or pick it up. Do you like pop-punk? These guys are one of the first, and best, to ever do it. The new album is no exception. It’s full of fast, fun, and catchy pop-punk music.

Dates for their North American tour kick off September 15th in Minneapolis at First Avenue and wrap up November 12th in Portland at Roseland Theater. The full tour routing can be found below.

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