As someone who is stuck wearing eyeglasses on a daily basis I am constantly struggling with the complete and total lack of a decent selection out there in the “frame-fashion” world that doesn’t completely burn a hole in my pocket. I find a nice pair of frames and then suddenly I’m thinking of ways I can auction off personal belongings in order to afford them. Thankfully I was recently tipped off to Warby Parker, a vintage inspired eyewear company that specializes in low-cost, high-end frames that aren’t going to eat away at your bank account. The average price is $95 and with that includes lenses and free shipping. If you don’t like them, send them back for a full refund. It really doesn’t get better than that.

PURCHASE | LISTEN

So, it’s been awhile. Things have been hectic in these parts of A&SB land, mainly because “the man” has been breathing down our neck… and being a small business owner I guess I am “the man” I speak of and I also guess that my neck is broken in order for my head to be positioned in a way for my mouth to reach around to the back of my head. In other words… whoops!

This doesn’t mean we haven’t been feverishly listening to music, going to shows and eagerly on the hunt for something new, something great. Great records are a necessity when working long hours, they help pass the time quickly and let you jump on and off the unbalanced boat of being relaxed and stressed. The Orchard by Ra Ra Riot is one of those records I’ve found that gives me that serenity during the work day and I hope it does the same for you. I will admit that there is no song on it that even compares to the lead-off track on their last record, “Ghost Under Rocks”, but as a unit from beginning to end, this album surpasses the last one as a cohesive piece of art rather than some good tracks here and there.

Matador Records is turning 21 and to celebrate they’re throwing the greatest goddamn party of all time. From October 1st – October 3rd in Las Vegas, NV they will be gathering their classic lineup from ’93 – ’96, including Guided By Voices featuring their original lineup (Tobin Sprout?!). Other artists include Lineup includes Pavement, Sonic Youth, Come, Belle & Sebastion, Spoon, Cat Power, Chavez, Yo La Tengo, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & many more.This is good news.

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 9th on Ticketfly.com so get ready to sit in front of your computer and hit the refresh button until they’re available because this will sell out rapidly.

I will leave you with “The Official Ironmen Rally Song”:

I have a soft spot for Stars, even for this new track which blatantly goes out of its way to explore a whole new world of fans throughout commercial radio. It’s catchy… very catchy and there is nothing wrong with that. My 17 year old, angst-ridden self would be mad at my 28 year old self for saying that… but that little prick had a big mouth and I’m trying to forget him anyway.

“I Don’t Want Your Body” and “Fixer” are from their fifth LP release, The Five Ghosts, which hit stores on June 21st via Vagrant Records in the US. Check out the video for their first single, “Fixer”, after the jump.

PURCHASE | LISTEN

The first time I put on Ceremony’s new record, Rohnert Park, I knew I’d heard it somewhere before. The promotional material told me I was supposed to be reminded of protopunk and 80s hardcore. RIYL Fucked Up, Black Flag, and the Stooges. Maybe. But that didn’t sound quite right.

Then it clicked. On Rohnert Park, Ceremony reminds me of Flipper, the San Francisco punk band that didn’t tune, played terribly and slowly, and featured irritatingly repetitive vocals. Flipper hopped on hardcore bills just to mess with the scene’s expectations. And they were awesome for it. Ceremony takes a similar approach, and this record is already dividing hardcore kids.

Rohnert Park begins with “Into the Wayside Part I” (of III) and leads directly into the first true song of the record, “Sick.” On “Sick,” vocalist Ross Farrar lists a whole bunch of stuff he’s sick of, including 20 year old bands like Cro-Mags and Black Flag (presumably because they rhyme), politics domestic and international (realism?), and even–you guessed it–sick of being sick.

“M.C.D.F.” swings awkwardly, and “Moving Principle” rails against the modern world (hate that thing). The next track, “The Doldrums (Friendly City),” is a slogging three minutes of piercing single note melodies and jangling guitars, torpedoing the momentum of the first few tracks. Later in the record, Ceremony offers the No Trend -esque “Into the Wayside II,” which forgoes lyrics in favor of a story about saving some old guy (I think), and includes an ill-advised guitar solo.

The album continues with four indistinguishable minute-and-change songs, and then, inexplicably, it gets great.

“The Pathos” and “Nigh to Life” make the most of the grinding bass tone and–for the fist time on the record–the music rises up to match the vocals. And it’s during these songs that Ceremony sounds the most comfortable. The album concludes with the final installment of “Into the Wayside,” which vocally and musically recalls mid-era Elliot Smith (I know, right?), and features a woman’s speaking voice (David Axelrod gets a shout out) and a great chorus. Ultimately, and after a minute of silence, the buzzsaw bass and pummeling drums return to close out the record.

Which brings me back to Flipper. The concept of out-punking the punks, of undermining expectations and saying “DEAL WITH IT,” is amazing. You can’t listen to Album – Generic Flipper without getting a bit of a wry, in-joke smile. And with Flipper, it’s not like they could have done better–they were really terrible at their instruments. But on Rohnert Park, it’s clear that Ceremony could have made a truly excellent album (for example, if they released the last three songs on this record as an EP). So, while it’s great to raise a middle finger to presumptions, it doesn’t necessarily make for the most enjoyable listen.

Rohnert Park is out on Bridge Nine Records.

Stream the new EP, Data Bandits, by Rubik below. If you like what you hear, head over to their website and download a copy for yourself for free!

In this sixth season, however, we’re finding it harder and harder to look past Michael’s flawed actions. It’s been a long season (it started all the way back in September if you recall), so let’s do a little recapping. Early on in the season and shortly after Jim & Pam’s wedding we find out that Michael didn’t just hookup with Pam’s mother on their wedding night, but is currently dating her. It’s unfair to look at the storyline of a sitcom through the eyes of reality, but even in the TV world this was overstepping an established boundary. As if Michael’s actions weren’t already atrocious enough, two episodes later the writers have the new couple briefly win over Pam’s approval only to have it all come tumbling down within minutes as we suffer through Michael painfully breaking up with Pam’s mom during her own birthday lunch.

For whatever reason, most of us forgave him and we went on watching. Only a few episodes later and the writers tested the audience again. This is of course the Scott’s Tots episode. Ten years prior, Michael made a promise to a class of underprivileged kids that if they graduated high school he would pay their way through college. He originally made this promise on the basis that he would be a millionaire by then. By now we all know Michael is pretty much broke. In the season 3 episode The Negotiation we find out that he’s barely making more than Daryl in the warehouse. Not to mention sinking who knows how much money into both Jan in season 4 and then his own paper company in the season 5.

Needless to say after much thanks from the students as their graduation day comes near, Michael has to break the news that all he can provide for them are laptop batteries. We’re just about halfway through the season and I really don’t know how we can like this character any longer. Yes, Michael does try to make good by telling one kid that he’ll pay for his books every year and the characters he screws over were never developed in a way where we had a true emotional tie to, but come on. He was the driving force of these kids’ lives for 10 years! As much as we can blame his stupidity on such a blunder, this one comes at a cost that cannot be reversed like so many of his previous missteps.

Finally we reach last week’s episode, the second to last of the season. Also know as the death of Michael Scott as a human being, or The Chump if we’re going to go by episode names. After Michael previously found out that Donna wasn’t cheating on him, but she was in fact cheating on her husband with Michael, they continue their relationship. This in itself is actually not the worst thing he has done. I was almost okay with it within the context of the show. Maybe Michael would learn some great lesson at the end of it. But that was not to be. The writers had to make the whole situation that much more appalling, putting Michael Scott in a hole I don’t think he can redeem himself out of. He gets called out by his office and only rebuts that Stanley and Phyllis had their own stint with infidelity themselves. And even slams Andy for being oblivious to Angela, his fiancée at the time, and Dwight’s relationship from the previous season. The last straw is when Michael returns from being forced to interact with Donna’s husband and shows even less remorse, eventually referring to himself as a James Bond type of guy. His return below.

Head over to iTunes and pick up A New Bohemia, the new release by our friends in LAPKO. The album was produced by the all-powerful D. James Goodwin, was originally released by the all-awesome Fullsteam Records in Finland and is an intense listen from beginning to end. Stand-out tracks are “Grab The Stick”, “Please Need Me” and “I Shot The Sheriff”. Also, check out the video for “I Shot The Sheriff” after the jump.

It’s no secret that we love us some Astronautalis. We wear it on our sleeve. Now he’s gone ahead and crafted himself a free mixtape (with help from DJ Fishr Pryce) that anyone and their pop can download, only providing us with more ammo to help spread the gospel.

The album is available as “pay what you want”, but we suggest you “pay what you have” to help support Andy in his efforts to eat well/survive on his upcoming tour with Tegan & Sara in Australia this May. Pomegranate was one of the finest albums to come out in 2008 and this is a strong return to the hip-hop roots that drove Astronautalis to become the artist that we hear today.

Read the introduction, download the mixtape and become a new fan here.