Portastatic on Phoning It In!

Mac called in to a program called "Phoning It In" on WMBR in Cambridge, MA last week to perform a few songs... over the phone line. An interesting idea with an entertaining result! Download it here: Portastatic on Phoning It In or visit the Phoning It In Blog to see who else has given WMBR a ring!

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Intern Corner #3: Tape Shark vs. Old Blue OR Stuck On Blue

As we all know, there's an election coming up. In the basement at Merge, there are two very different tape guns, and opinions on which is the superior are mixed. Candidate #1 is a newcomer from the Duck company. Known in these parts as the Tape Shark, Tape Shark dispenses Tape and looks like a Shark. Like the sharks found in ball pits at McDonalds across America, Tape Shark gets a smell for tape and leaves no prisoners. Candidate #2 is known as Old Blue. Old Blue is Old and Blue. While Old Blue may not have the go-get-em' attitude of Tape Shark, it is user-friendly and dependable.


I asked around the office to get a feel for which tape gun does the best job of cutting tape. Jack Ball, Tape Shark endorser, states that Tape Shark is not a toy, like Old Blue. The technical name for Tape Shark is Tape Shark Pro, and Jack states that he is indeed a pro. Paul Cardillo, Old Blue supporter says "I hate the shark". "I'm up here trying to talk to Billboard Magazine on the phone and you're asking me about a damn tape gun for the Merge blog?" When I told Cardillo what Ball said about being a pro, Cardillo retorted "Jack doesn't know what it's like to work in shipping, and I'm the only Merge employee that looks like David Cross."

Other Tape Shark fans include Wilson Fuller, who says "the Tape Shark is all about nuance", and Maggie Fost.

Those in support of Old Blue include Jamie Beck, and myself. I just said "Old Blue is easier to use because it doesn't have the hindering safety features of Tape Shark."

Spott Philpott refuses to pick between the two candidates, and votes for the Ralph Nader of Tape Guns, Old Gray. Old Gray is not with us anymore, but remains in the loyal heart of one employee.

We could debate Tape Guns for several minutes, but the real issue here is that boxes need tape, or the whole system falls apart.
-beebo

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Eitzel-o-Lantern

It's Halloween-time! Pumpkin carving will, no doubt, ensue. My favorite pumpkin carving experience resulted in the Eitzel-o-Lantern. The resemblance is uncanny, don't you think?

Boo!
Christina

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For Your Listening Pleasure . . .

Richard Buckner stopped in at KCMP "The Current" in Minneapolis. Archive here!
M. Ward's KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast is up and running! Listen & Watch!
White Whale, Camera Obscura, Richard Buckner, The Clientele & Lambchop all recently taped live sessions at KEXP which can be found here.
Also, M. Ward's KEXP session will be podcasted 10/27. Subscribe here!
Portastatic played the Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU while in NYC. Archive is Here.

Spread the love!
Christina

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Lambchop Photo Contest Results

Congrats to Nathan from Scottsdale, AZ for his entry in the Lambchop "Damaged" Photo Contest - he wins a loaded Lambchop iPod! We were all excited to receive his photo! That is one seriously damaged boat..

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CAMERA OBSCURA ON GREY'S ANATOMY (sort of), TONIGHT!!

Camera Obscura's "If Looks Could Kill" will be featured on tonight's episode of the hit ABC series Grey's Anatomy (Thursday - 10/12/06 - at 9PM EST)!

Set your DVR/VCR/Tivo STAT! The first two minutes of Grey's Anatomy , arguably the most attractively populated hour in television, will be scored by the dulcet tones of Camera Obscura's "If Looks Could Kill" (from their wonderful Merge CD Let's Get Out Of This Country). Will Meredith be kissing McDreamy or McVet? Will Izzie come back to work? The suspense is almost too much to bear!

Tune in Thursday, October 12th (TONIGHT) at 9 PM EST (or check your local listings) and enjoy Camera Obscura's soundtrack to the high jinks of Seattle Grace!

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Portastatic Coasters: get your drink on

I don't know about you, but it's always been a dream of mine to put my drink on Mac's head. The band will have these fancy sets of four on the road with them, so be sure to stop by the merch table!

Portastatic tour dates!
10.11.2006 * Philadelphia PA @ Northstar Bar
10.12.2006 * Boston MA @ Great Scott
10.13.2006 * New York NY @ Mercury Lounge
10.14.2006 * Hoboken NJ @ Maxwell's
10.15.2006 * New Haven CT @ BAR
10.17.2006 * Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite Ballroom
10.18.2006 * Washington, DC @ Black Cat Backstage
10.19.2006 * Durham NC @ Duke Coffeehouse
10.20.2006 * Mt. Pleasant SC @ Village Tavern
10.21.2006 * Atlanta GA @ The Earl
11.15.2006 * Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
11.17.2006 * Pittsburgh, PA @ Andy Warhol Museum
11.18.2006 * Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
11.19.2006 * Columbus, OH @ Carabar
11.20.2006 * Nashville, TN @ The Basement
11.21.2006 * Greensboro, NC @ The Flying Anvil

-Lindsey K.

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The Onion AV Blog

Blogging about blogging is sooo post-modern, but I must say that the Onion AV Blog is one of my favorite must-reads. In addition to making fun of things that deserve to be ridiculed, and calling attention to things that deserve more acclaim, there are other great features in the AV Club like (my personal favorite) The Hater and glances into cool ipods on Random Rules.

Check it out! And post something good for us to look at in the comments!

Happy Friday,
Christina

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The Broken West lives on!

The Brokedown are now The Broken West!

More info here. And the band's announcement here.

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Up To The Rafters...

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Chunklet Turns 13; Hilarity ensues

The angry yet adorable Chunklet Magazine crew are planning a riotous party to celebrate 13 yrs of existence in Athens/Atlanta October 26 - October 29! Tenement Halls will play Friday, October 27th @ The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta. Jon Wurster will also be on hand a couple of days to help with the festivities!

Sounds awesome - especially Whirly Ball! Could it be as much fun as cornhole?

Christina

(click on jump to permalink below for Full Chunklet Weekend Schedule & ticket information.)


The Chunklet 13th Anniversary Weekend Extravaganza Blowout Schedule:

DAY ONE:
Thursday October 26
Patton Oswalt
Zach Galifianakis
Elf Power
plus special guests
The Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
$15adv/$15dos
in association with Criminal Records' 15th Anniversary
Tickets

DAY TWO:
Friday October 27
Patton Oswalt
Zach Galifianakis
Elf Power
The Pull The String Players (a puppet show)
Jon Wurster
The 40 Watt Club, Athens
$10adv/$12dos
Tickets or at Schoolkids Records.

Friday October 27
Harvey Milk
Tenement Halls
The Rattler
The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta
$10adv/$10dos
Tickets

DAY THREE:
Saturday October 28
Melvins with special guest David Yow (from The Jesus Lizard)
Harvey Milk
Big Business
MC Jon Wurster
The 40 Watt Club, Athens
$13adv/$15dos
Tickets or at Schoolkids Records.

DAY FOUR:
Sunday October 29
Melvins with special guest David Yow (from The Jesus Lizard)
Big Business
Harvey Milk
Whirlyball Atlanta, Roswell
$25adv/$30dos
Tickets

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M. WARD on Craig Ferguson via You Tube!

I think the camera work is better than on Letterman, because you can see all M. Ward's finger-picking madness up close!

Enjoy!
Christina

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SPOON - "Interface" on AOL MUSIC

Spoon's Britt Daniel stopped by the AOL Music Studios in L.A. recently for a taping of INTERFACE.

Click here to stream the tunes and the interview.

You can also download video and audio of the performance as a podcast or MP3, along with some "fun" facts and photos at the Interface homepage.

Check it out!

-martin

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