Amoeba is proud to partner once again with MATATU for the 2018 MATATU Festival of Stories, which kicks off on Wednesday, September 26th at 7pm with an evening with Saul Williams at Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theatre. Part film, part performance, everything is on the table in this conversation with one of the world's most prolific artists.

Saul Williams has been breaking ground since his debut album, Amethyst Rock Star, was released in 2001. After gaining global fame for his poetry and writings at the turn of the century, Williams has performed in over 30 countries and read in over 300 universities, with invitations that have spanned from the White House, the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, The Louvre, The Getty Center, Queen Elizabeth Hall, to countless villages, townships, community centers, and prisons across the world. The Newburgh, New York native gained a BA from Morehouse and an MFA from Tisch, and has gone on to perform with Nine Inch Nails and Allen Ginsburg, as well as countless film and television appearances.

Wednesday, September 26th, includes a special film screening of The Third Part of the Third Measure (2017), a new audiovisual composition commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia and Sharjah Biennial 13. The Third Part of the Third Measure creates an encounter with the militant minimalism of avant-garde composer, pianist, and vocalist Julius Eastman. The film focuses on what The Otolith Group describe as “an experience of watching in the key of listening,” invoking political feelings of defiance and the collective practice of movement-building that participates in the global struggles against neo-reactionary authoritarianism. The Third Part of the Third Measure invites viewers to attend to exemplary ecstatic aesthetics of black radicalism that Eastman himself once described as “full of honor, integrity, and boundless courage.”

In celebration of the release of Death Cab For Cutie's Thank You For Today, come in to Amoeba SF on release date (this Friday, August 17) at 4:30pm and get a FREE BURRITO (while quantities last) with purchase of the new album OR when you show us your DCFC shirt, tattoo, or ticket stub! No kidding!

Although Death Cab for Cutie can't be there, you can enjoy a burrito on them. DCFC loves their fans and they also love burritos, so Friday is all about both at Amoeba SF.

Thank You for Today is the sound of Death Cab for Cutie both expanding and refining; a band twenty years into its evolution, still uncovering new curves in its signatures, new sonic corners to explore. The Seattle band’s ninth studio album stands alongside classic Death Cab for Cutie albums including their 1998 debut Something About Airplanes and 2003’s masterful Transatlanticism as a definitive collection -- ten tracks that are by turns beautiful and dynamic, and darkly anthemic and bittersweet.

Noise Pop presents their sixth annual 20th Street Block Party on Saturday, August 18th from noon to 6pm! The 20th Street corridor between Harrison and Bryant Streets in the historic Mission District will be transformed into a FREE neighborhood celebration of music, food, local vendors, and tons of other surprises.

This year's musical line-up includes performances from Empress Of, Jeff Rosenstock, The Marías, The She's, FAN (Meric Long of The Dodos), The Total Bettys, Small crush, SAZON LIBRE, B-Side Brujas, and more. Additionally, there will be yoga set to live music on the main stage from Showga, which is presented by SAVA, a marketplace for curated cannabis goods. (Mutiny Radio, on 21st and Florida, will play host to a SAVA delivery hot-spot for anyone who wants to order for delivery during the festival.) 

Amoeba Music is thrilled to be on the scene too with killer used vinyl, enamel pins, and more. We'll be located in the Deep Eddy Vodka's Music Mixer, where attendees can cool down with delicious vodka slushies, peruse our used vinyl, and maybe even dance at the adjacent Silent Disco. Guests are encouraged to buy some vinyl for the DJ to spin for the audience.

By Brent James

“And I'm lost, behind
The words I'll never find
And I'm left behind
As seasons roll on by”
- Chris Cornell

As we shift through the seasons of our own lives, we’re constantly reminded of the influence music has had not only on us and our ever-changing desires for rebirth and new experiences, but how it’s also shapes things we sometimes take for granted such as Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

“We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time.”
- Terry Jacks

Whether you realize it or not, life has a soundtrack. Think about the music you listened to when you were younger, or in your “Spring” years. It may not be in your current rotation now, but it sure shaped you then, and is guaranteed to be bringing somebody SOMEWHERE to the brink of their realizations now. You pass on what you learn, and hope to gain knowledge of fresh conditions along the way.

“The nights draw in
There's a silky moon up in the sky, yeah
Children are fantasising
Grown-ups are standing by
What a super feeling
Am I dreaming?”
- Queen

By Jon Longhi

Welcome to this month’s Having A Movie Moment with Jon Longhi, where I review recent Blu-ray releases. Both of these Blu-rays came out in the past three months.

Blue Planet II, BBC Earth:
At Amoeba Music we sell a lot of DVDs of abstract video set to psychedelic music that are used by people who are bombed on pot and psychedelics to blow their minds to. Well, those stoner viewers have found their new holy grail with Blue Planet II. This is one of the trippiest things I've ever seen; every episode is utterly surreal and mind bending, and the best part is there are no drugs involved -- this is pure straight up reality. The oceans are an alien world to us land dwellers and David Attenborough's high def cameras reveal this reality to a degree we've never seen before. Thanks to recent developments in technology and photography, this is the clearest we've ever seen the underwater realm. In all older ocean documentaries, the light and colors beneath the surface have always been muted or blurred due to that fact that cameras couldn't equal the details of human vision. But photography has finally caught up and all the scenes in Blue Planet II are as crystal clear as if you were there underwater viewing the events through a scuba diving mask. In fact, this Blu-ray is the new gold standard for high def. When I popped this in I couldn't believe how sharp and clear the pictures and details were, they were even better than other recent Blu-ray releases.