Summer Solstice Summary and a Visit to Pitchfork!

Readers, we hope you enjoyed your summer solstice festivities yesterday. Richard chose to celebrate by attending a Native-American "smudging" ritual at the legendary former "meth-house" on 15th Street, which has now been purchased by Eastside raconteur and hot-tub enthusiast Bob Coffm.n following the ATF raids that ejected "Scooter" from the premises. Also in attendance at the ritual was the owner of Miracle Video, who lives in the area and thankfully did not embarrass Richard by asking about all the Sammy Ryry films that Richard has been checking out lately "for research purposes."

While Richard was initially skeptical of Bob's purchase of the property, he quickly found himself won over by its proximity to the Outhouse (also, it looks like a real sweet place to cook meth!).

But let's get to today's primary purpose: a visit to Pitchfork. There are some days where we feel that, although we are very hip indeed, we could be even hipper, and on those days we turn to Pitchfork to discover a new band which we will then champion for a few weeks until we move on to something hipper. We have a certain two-pronged technique we use when skimming Pitchfork: (1) we only focus on bands with an 8.0 or better rating and (2) we only focus on bands whose names are somewhat silly.

Today's choice: Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti, whose new album, Before Today, receives a very high 9.0.

Ariel Pink, it seems, has made his name by "using an ultra lo-fo recording set-up to re-imagine cheesy AM radio jingles and lost new wave tracks as surreal, art-damaged pop." The new record, however, apparently embraces a more polished sound: "Opening with roller-rink keyboards, a popping bass, and car chase sound effects, it feels loose and casual until the falsetto vocals snap into place, sounding suddenly like Philip Bailey on a lost Earth, Wind & Fire jam." Pitchfork's conclusion: "It's a rare feat for artists to maintain a truly unique sound while taking their music in a direction that appeals to a wider audience. For those who've been following along for a few years, this is a groundbreaking record that condenses and amplifies Ariel Pink's most accessible tendencies."

Richard: "Hold on now! Since when does Pitchfork champion 'accessibility?' Then again, I shall give this a chance because it has a song named 'Butt-House Blondies' on it, and that sounds interesting."

Go here for Ariel Pink doing a spectacularly dull and painfully long cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire":

http://www.myspace.com/arielpink