Reads Of My RSS: as of Thursday, December 11th

Here's the first edition of a new feature, Reads of My RSS.
Bringing you news of the past week (or so) that's a) hilarious b) interesting and c) at least worth noting.

First off, let me explain how much news there's been this past week about the Arcade Fire. Seriously, it's like they injected happy bubbles into their PR person, possibly worried about being forgotten. Don't worry Arcade Fire, you may not be on best of 2008 lists because you ranked so high in 2007, but it's still hard to forget the track "Neon Bible," at least for me.

So, not only have they given up rights to the Benjamin Button trailer and given out cryptic hints about releasing a film, titled Miror Noir, but members of the band that are also in Bell Orchestre have announced that they're now signed to Canada indie powerhouse label Arts & Crafts, and will release their second album next year. (Pitchfork)

Keeping it on a Montreal tone, Plants & Animals have created a new video for the song "Feedback in the Field." It looks awesome, but too bad Firefox is hating on me lately with audio. (Pitchfork)

More Canadian collective news, and this time it's the ever-growing Broken Social Scene. Last week, they played a couple shows in Toronto that I unfortunately missed (although, it was more choice, I can't stand the Sound Academy) but one night included Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse and Elizabeth Powell from Land of Talk, while the next night had Emily Haines from Metric. (Pitchfork)

But, it gets worse in terms of "holy crap i can't believe i missed this show." Why? Maybe you'll start kicking yourself in the face too when you continue reading, finding out that the other night here in Toronto at the little Dakota Tavern, was Broken Social Scene, Jason Collett, Metric, Stars, and Gentleman Reg.

Yeah. Fuck.

The National Post got the scoop (and the cell phone pictures), and even though their account sounds really fangirl-ish and makes an almost horrifying comparison to a night with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Buzzcocks, and the Damned, it's still a good portrayal of the night in the sense that you can tell everyone was also thinking "holy crap." (National Post)

A few months ago, it was announced that British rock group the Long Blondes were forced to disband after Dorian Cox had a stroke that paralyzed his right side. Sad news, right? But there's a glimmer of hope. It was announced that Cox will be getting a SaeboFlex glove that will give him use to his right hand, and therefore he will be able to go back to playing guitar.

Pitchfork put it in a new light though. "based on the way it looks, we're kind of hoping Cox forgets about music and decides to start fighting crime." (Pitchfork)

Alright, now last music-related news before I get to some other random good stuff. Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 posted a few days ago a recollection of the transmission fair, where all of the top music executives got together in British Columbia for discussions. Though Lawrence may have found some mental pain in the matter, the tips he brought back were either duh-points or actutally pretty interesting. He recalled how Seymour Stein said "I signed the Ramones because they reminded me of the Beach Boys." Oof. (CBC Radio 3)

Alright, now my last three news bits are courtesty of the National Post. I personally think they have the best Arts section in any Canadian newspaper, or any other paper I've seen as a matter of fact. They're witty, daring, and overall affective in what they find to cover.

They discussed how animated features should just be nominated for Best Picture at this point. I whole heartedly agree, as any mention of Wall-E makes me all silly and giggly.

They dwelled on the fact of how J.K. Rowling's latest tale, The Beetle and the Bard, (I can't believe I don't own it yet...) is most likely going to be made into a film. Can't say I didn't see that coming. But this is good, as I've stuck it to Twilight these past few months as a true HP fan. Representin'...

And lastly, you cannot just skim over Steven Murray's hilarious Extremely Bad Advice column. Here's today's post... on how he got into giving advice in a bloody way.


That's it for this week's Reads of My RSS. Comments? Questions? Think I'm missing something huge? Too concerned about MIA's baby or Jennifer Aniston and Britney Spears's decreasing mental stability? Contact Jess at roundletters@gmail.com.

P.S. Look to the right (if you're on the page, not your Reader) --> new poll! Get voting!