Radiohead stated weeks ago they would be releasing a series of 12″ remixes from King Of Limbs. The first, a Caribou remix of Little By Little and a remix of Lotus Flower by Jacques Green dropped July 5th. The second 12″ included remixes of Morning Mr Magpie and a couple different mixes of Bloom out August 2nd.

Now the band have announced the third 12″ in the series which includes mixes of Feral, Mr Magpie and Separator. I’m really loving the Four Tet remix of Separator out August 9th.

Radiohead plans on releasing all the King Of Limbs remixes on cd once the 12″ vinyl series is complete. Check out all the remixes done so far at the band’s website.

After careful deliberations I have determined this week’s winners!

We start with the honorable mentions, beginning with Niki:   

This little piggy was the market.             

up next, Kraig:

Attendees at PETA’s Rally to Restore Compassion are forced to watch how they make the sausage.

Tina’s answer made me hungry!

Biggest. Pig. Roast. EVER!

I loved Little John’s music related caption: 

Pink Floyd concert prop gone aray!

Paul went political: 

OK, that’s it…the FINAL straw…this genetic engineering stuff MUST come to an end!!!

John had a  number of good ones, but I liked this one best: 

Note to self: Never order milk at Famous Dave’s again.

The first runner-up is Derek for his play on words: 

 We’re “Hog Wild” for buying local!   

Derek shares the grand prize with Christopher A, for his literary reference!

In a horrible retelling of “Lord of the Flies”, the schoolchildren find themselves stranded on a deserted island populated by Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons instead of wild pigs, leaving them to subsist solely on helium.

Both will receive the 3 day passes to the People Fest as well as 2 CD’s of their choice from our prize closet.            

Thanks to all who played along!

The last couple weeks Feist has been dropping hints about her upcoming release Metals due out October 4th. Feist revealed via tweet yesterday a “paint by numbers” image of the official album art. As the post reads, “Use the key or make your own and post to listn.to/feist. Our faves win something special.”

Feist still collaborates with Broken Social Scene and became one of the big breakout artists of 2007 with her fourth solo album The Reminder. The video for 1234 was an homage to the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Olympics in her hometown of Calgary in which she performed as a dancer at just 12 years of age.

The new record was recorded in Big Sur, California and co-produced by Chilly Gonzalez, Mocky and Bjork associate Valgeir Sigurosson. Feist will be offering 12 separate track-teasing vignettes of Metals at her website, www.listentofeist.com.

MTV is turning 30 years old this August, so I thought I’d dip back into my memory banks to the early days of the music TV network..back when they actually played videos!

Not every city had MTV right away, but Stevens Point was, amazingly, an early adapter and Jones Intercable or whatever cable company we had back then got on the MTV train only a week or two after it premiered.

I wasn’t a huge fan, but did watch it when there wasn’t anything else on, or I was hanging out with friends and needed some background music while we chatted and drank!

These are my TOP FIVE MTV videos that for some reason have been imbedded in my brain for all these years (in no particular order).

1. “Land of Confusion” by Genesis. Reaction then: “Wow, they’re getting so political! Awesome.” Reaction now: “Puppets are creepy.”

2. “Cry” by Godley and Creme. Reaction then: “Amazing visual effects, so trippy!” Reaction now: “Um, I guess that was kinda cool.”

3. “Freeze Frame” by the J. Geils Band. Reaction then: “Peter Wolf looks a little like Gilligan.” Reaction now: “I want that Danelectro guitar.”

4. “Take On Me” by A-ha. Reaction then: “Cool pencil animation, lame song.” Reaction now: “Cool pencil animation, lame song.”

5. “In Your Letter” by REO Speedwagon. Reaction then: “I’m thinking REO might not be all that cool after all.” Reaction now: “Kevin Cronin needs to eat a sandwich.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the setting sun warming the Capital dome.  It was more like the fluorescent lights casting a cold glow on the cinder block walls.

But, hey, the “Concert on the Square” went on despite two nights of rain in a row. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performed inside the Alliant Energy Center Thursday night, usually home to the dog show and that kind of thing. It actually worked out pretty well, though I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular venue. There’s something about the actual Square that makes the concerts there something special.

But soprano Susanna Phillips, who usually performs at the slightly more plush Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center and WCO Maestro Andrew Sewell were good natured about the whole thing and they delivered a great performance in the surprisingly accoustically not as horrible as everybody thought it would be Alliant Center.

The real heroes of all this were WCO Executive Director Doug Gerhart and the folks at Dane County who made this happen in less then a day. As of 8:30 this morning there was going to be no concert. Susanna Phillips would have gone back to New York after performing only in her hotel room shower and we would have missed Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer 1915″ and Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown” from Rodeo. I also would have missed the tuna fillet for dinner, which was very nice even in artificial light.

It actually turned out to be a nice demonstration of the Madison spirit. A little rain in the forecast? Just move a major production involving dozens of musicians, sound equipment, vendors, and tables and chairs to seat thousands of people to a venue you didn’t know was available ten hours before the performance. No problem.

It was good work by a lot of dedicated people and thousands of us in the audience appreciated it. But let’s hope for sunshine for the orchestra’s last Capitol performance next week.

This Saturday it will be extra festive around the Barrymore Theatre..it’s Atwood Summerfest time again!

Cool cats enjoying last year's festival

This is one of Madison’s great summer festivals, with tasty food, refreshing beverages..and great live music.  Local bands make up this year’s lineup, with a little something for everybody.

Proceeds benefit the Goodman Community Center (which used to be the Atwood Community Center). They’ve got great programs for kids and adults and really do great work. This is one of their major fundraisers, so let’s hope it’s a big success.

Now I know it’s going to be HOT this weekend, but here’s another great thing about this festival. It’s located within convenient walking distance of several air conditioned bars.

Here’s the lineup for 2011!

Harmony Bar / Capital Brewery BLUES Stage
12:00 pm The Roddys: a duo that mixes country with the blues
1:10 pm Cris Plata and Extra Hot: original Tex Mex
2:20 pm Sigourney Weavers:  original rock/alternative
3:30 pm David Hecht and Primitive Culture: funk, blues, tropical
4:40 pm Kyle Henderson and Blue Eyed Soul: soul & blues from an original member of the Producers
5:50 pm The Jimmys: 8-piece Chicago style blues led by rock-n-roll farmer Jimmy Voegeli

Maximum Ink / Ale Asylum ROCK Stage:
12:00 pm Unity the Band: reggae
1:20 pm Lova Nova: get your groove on
2:40 pm Soul Shaker: rock n roll, blues
4:00 pm Baghdad Scuba Review: progressive rock
5:30 pm VO5: funk/disco/dance

I hope you enjoy this week’s photo  as much as I enjoy reading your captions.

Last week’s two big winners were not able to use the People Fest Tickets that they won and were nice enough to let me know in advance, so ONCE AGAIN, up for grabs, for TWO lucky winners, 3 day passes to the People fest, August 11,12,13 in Hillsboro WI. Lots of great bands will be there including Natty Nation, The Soapbox project, Moondawg and many more.

In addition to the tickets, both winners can take 2 CD’s of their choice from our prize closet.

The deadline for your captions is Friday at 4 PM. Good Luck!

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists’ first novel Wildwood hits bookstores August 30th. The children’s book was illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. The project came to life while the couple strolled Forest Park in the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown Portland. Meloy has revealed the story’s main character Prue is kind of himself as a kid.

Wildwood is described as a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis, Wildwood is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.

Collaborating on the creative project has brought the couple even closer together as they have committed to a three book series. Colin and his wife are offering autographed copies of the book pre-ordered through Powell’s Books in Portland.

For some reason it’s always exciting to know a famous person shares your birthday.   Today is my birthday.   I don’t know why, but it’s thrilling to know that someone you’ll never meet and have nothing in common with was born on the same day.  It can be a little disappointing when you discover no one you really like is born on the same day.  Mick Jagger, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Stanley Kubrick, George Bernard Shaw, Kate Beckinsale, Kevin Spacey, Blake Edwards, Gracie Allen, Aldous Huxley, and Carl Jung are just some of the famous people born YESTERDAY.

So who is born on the same day as me?  At first glance the list is not that impressive.  It includes:

Maureen McGovern who’s famous for the song “The Morning After”.   Ho hum.

Skater Peggy Flemming who was a great Olympic skater, but also had an awful joke about her name.  “What kind of booger skates?  Peggy FLEMming.

Norman Lear was born on July 27th.  He created the television show “All in the Family”, which featured the first sound effect of a toilet flushing on prime time television.

New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez was also born today, but he is far from my favorite baseball player.  Why couldn’t Harold Baines, Ozzie Guillen or Juan Uribe be born on July 27th?

Despite a lame line-up for my birthday buddies, there is one person who shares this day with me that makes up for it.

Bugs Bunny.

I know Bugs Bunny is not real, but according to the book: Bugs Bunny :50 Years and Only One Gray Hare, Bugs was born on July 27, 1940 in Brooklyn near Ebbets Field..  Despite Bugs not being real he was still a big influence on my life.  Some people say “What Would Jesus Do?”.  My mantra is “What Would Bugs Do?”  I’ve always loved his attitude and style.   He’s kind of a cartoon mix of George Clooney, Humphrey  Bogart, Grocho Marx and Tom Hanks.

Bugs Bunny cartoons were made in Warner Brothers golden age of cartoons with brilliant creators like Chuck Jones and voiced by Mel Blanc.  Bugs has been recreated the last few years for movies like Space Jam with Michael Jordan, but I prefer the old school Bugs like in this picture:

In this cartoon, Bugs was being chased by a strange character simply named Monster.  He gets into a real jam, but gets out of it by giving Monster a manicure.  Brilliant.

Bugs has also had his share of cross dressing to get out of trouble:

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’ve done the same:

Somewhere along the line I have become a runner. It was never my intention, but it happened. I think part of my love of Triathlon is the social aspect of it.

The most social of the 3 sports is the run.

While me and my friends spend a lot of time gabbing before and after swims (just ask my wife), oh- and of course during breaks in those swims, we spend most of our swim time with our faces buried in the water. It’s tough to be socialable with your face buried in the water.

It’s a little better on the bike. But if you are riding safely (and there are some who really should read and pay attention to this next line)- you are NOT riding in a pack, you are riding single file or maybe (at the most- and only in certain situations) 2 abreast. On race-day it’s even worse- not only are you not allowed to ride side-by-side, you can’t even ride directly behind somebody- I think the triathlon rules say 3 bike lengths. So it’s tough to be socialable when you’re staring at the back of someone’s head, or worse yet 3 lengths behind them- although a little easier than when your face is buried in the water.

Then there’s the run.

The run is the most socialable of the 3 sports. It’s pretty acceptable to run in packs. Even on race-day, there’s no rule against it. As you get yourself in shape, it’s not hard to talk while you run. So the run becomes the most socialable of the 3 sports.

And because I like the social aspect of triathlon- I’ve become a runner.

The run at Door County started well for me. Once again, I ran into a much younger friend just as I left the transition area- he started several waves before me and I was about to catch him. That in itself pumped me up a bit. But then there was the fact that he’s a much faster runner than I am- so the plan was to catch him and then let him pace me in for a new PR (personal record). I caught him and very shortly after that passed him. At about mile 4 I ran into Tara and Jamie Osborn from Endurance House- they weren’t racing- just cheering us all on. Jamie was pretty excited that I was racing so well- but I was feeling pretty rough at that point and I told him. He ran along with me for a block or so and encouraged me- “just keep turning your legs over” he said. And I did.

I should mention somthing at this point. Since I was passed by my friend Kristin in the first transition- I had not been passed. At all. And it was starting to wear on me. At that point in the day all that was going through my mind was “somebody pass me, so I can just relax and race my race.” It finally happened at about mile 5 when I saw a local family on the side of the road, handing out bottles of water (did I mention the temperature? 101 degrees with the heat index), so I ran (o.k., maybe I walked) over to them and grabbed a bottle of water and started running again. It was at that point that a young woman passed me. Finally! I can relax now.

Shortly after that point was the first of 2 big hills. Last year I started walking this particular hill when an old guy passed the bunch of us who were walking, turned and yelled “that’s why we’re here boys…to run!” and kept running up that hill. So I had to run the hill. This year I decided there was no way I would run the hill. I walked it and I’m glad I did. I got my running legs back by the top of the hill and headed back into Egg Harbor, where I knew I would see my wife and the rest of my family. I felt good as I passed them. About that time I also saw my friend Stef who told me that another friend was about 5 minutes ahead of me. I knew that he had started several waves ahead of me, so I was feeling pretty good about myself and I pushed the pace a little bit until I caught him on the second of the two big hills. We walked the hill together and he told me that he had not seen many people my age- he thought there were only a couple ahead of me. So I pushed the pace a little more- I think I passed two more guys my age and then caught at third at mile 12. We both stopped at the aid station- didn’t talk at all, but kept an eye on each other. I grabbed some Gatorade and water and started to run again. And I heard “Damn!” from him- we both laughed I told him that I was watching him out of the corner of my eye the whole time. We ran together for a while- running into both of our wives as we ran together and then we hit the big downhill before the finish line at that point he backed off and I just tried to relax and let gravity do it’s job as I ran down the hill and into the finishers chute. I felt bad that I passed him so close to the finish line- but I was also worried that we would cross the line together and they would put one of us in 3rd place and the other in 4th- leaving one off the podium. Turns out that wasn’t a problem- I ended up 8th and he was 9th, I think I beat him by about 15 seconds and congratulated me as soon as I crossed the finish line.