Amoeba.com just posted a new "What's In My Bag?" video with funnyman Bob Odenkirk, a.k.a. Saul Goodman ("Better Call Saul!") on the AMC television show Breaking Bad.

The actor and comedian was visiting Amoeba Hollywood to host our April charity auction and took some time to do a little shopping for The Shins' Port of Morrow and Elvis Costello's Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, plus La Haine and The Royle Family DVDs.


Bob Odenkirk goes shopping at Amoeba Hollywood.
Big congratulations are also in order to the cast and crew of Breaking Bad which was just today nominated for 13 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Lead Actor.

Yeasayer's third album, Fragrant World, is being released August 21 on Secretly Canadian. On Fragrant World, the band continues to embrace electronic instruments and effects, with hardly any guitar presence. In many ways, it's a progression from the sound of their sophomore album Odd Blood, an album I much prefer over their debut, All Hour Cymbals (as fellow Amoeblogger Billy Gil mentioned in his recent post).

Chris Keating, Ira Wolf-Tuton and Anand Wilder recorded Fragrant World in Brooklyn, (side note: for some reason I have it in my mind that Yeasayer is an Australian band and have to constantly remind myself that they are, in fact, New Yorkers). Keating recently told Under the Radar that he was listening to a lot of R&B while working on the album and "wanted to make a record that was legitimately, to use a bad word, funky." That is music to my booty-shaking ears. He also went on to describe it as "Sci-fi Pam Grier music," which made my booty stop shaking and instead looked a tad quizzical. But my booty and I will hold out final judgment until we can listen to the entire album. So far I've only heard "Henrietta," which Amoeba.com offers as a free download (get it here), and "Longevity" (video below), but I love both of those tracks already. And I can kind of see what he meant with the Sci-fi Pam Grier comparison.

Fourth of July started out overcast and slightly cool in Hollywood, but by about 12:15pm the clouds burned off and the sun came shining through, just in time for the festivities to start at Amoeba Hollywood. We strategically hid "golden tickets" in plastic easter eggs around the store, each filled with a prize such as a free Amoeba gift certificate, free chair massage by our go-to masseuse Terrence, free caricatures from Rene and April, or a free Amoeba t-shirt. Not to mention lots and lots of coupons for free ice cream and free hot dogs, courtesy of two food trucks visiting Amoeba today: Dogtown Dogs and The Good Times Ice Cream Truck.

Our own DJ Continental Song-gress spun records in the afternoon, providing the star-spangled soundtrack for our busy shoppers taking advantage of the last day of our massive poster sale and hunting for golden tickets.

Hollywood closes early tonight (at 7pm) but we'll be back open on Thursday, July 5 at 10:30am. Have a happy and safe holiday!


Note DJ Continental Song-gress's stylish, one of a kind hat hand-stitched by our very own Daniel!


Strategically hidden golden tickets (a.k.a. easter eggs).

Continue reading...

The lineup for the next Sunset Strip Music Festival in Hollywood was announced this week. Marilyn Manson headlines with The Offspring, Bad Religion, Steve Aoki, De La Soul, Far East Movement, Black Label Society, Dead Sara, Das Racist, and The Mowgli's also performing.

Taking place August 16-18, the festival begins with a VIP event honoring The Doors. Details TBA but they're saying an-all star band will pay tribute to The Doors, and other bands playing the festival will cover Doors songs as well.

Saturday, August 18 is the main day for the festival, with Sunset Blvd closing down between Doheny and San Vicente. There will be two outdoor stages, beer gardens, autograph tent, VIP lounge, food trucks, and more music at participating iconic Sunset Strip venues - The Roxy, Whisky A Go Go, and Key Club. Those three venues, plus House of Blues and The Viper Room will have various shows on Thursday and Friday as well.

My Morning Jacket announced two things this week: 1) new West Coast tour dates and 2) what they are calling the "Spontaneous Curation Series," an opportunity for fans to help determine which songs get played each night. MMJ will use their Twitter account before each performance to engage with fans and accept requests for that particular show.

What is a little unclear is whether Twitter fans are making suggestions for their encores or for their entire set. It may be vague because certain festival shows, particularly in Europe, can't accommodate their generally lengthy encores. But what is clear is that Fan Club members get an additional opportunity to help decide the opening song.


I really love this "Spontaneous Curation Series" idea for a few reasons. For fans who participate, it will make them feel involved in the performance far more than a "passive" attendee and each show will truly be special and unique. (Which may also drive ticket sales for fans looking to experience a different show each night.) From a social media perspective, it will strengthen their audience, certainly in terms of online engagement but also likely in total number of Twitter followers. That's akin to a social media slam dunk - reward and engage your core followers while attracting new ones in the process!

MMJ's "Spontaneous Curation Series" reminds me of a 2012 hi-tech version of Elvis Costello's "Spectacular Spinning Songbook." During his 1986 "Revolver Tour," Costello brought a game show style wheel with him on stage and let fans spin the giant wheel to decide the next song. Costello resurrected the concept in 2011 and recently released the Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook CD/DVD recorded over two nights in Los Angeles. Perhaps the MMJ "Spontaneous Curation" shows will lead to a live album as well...