Another One off The List: Matt Skiba

Last week, I was able to talk to another one of my favorite bands. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Alkaline Trio front man Matt Skiba. (This was actually my second interview with the band. I interviewed drummer Derek Grant last year.)

I've found that I am actually much less nervous to talk to my rock and roll heroes than bands I've never heard of. Since I own all the AK3 records and have seen them live a bunch of times, it's not hard to come up with a list of things I'd like to ask them from a fan's perspective. If it's a band that's new to me, I have to do a lot of research just to avoid sounding like an idiot.

Mr. Skiba, with his smoker's voice, was very cool and easy to talk to. He was the first rock star to ever start the conversation by asking me where I was and what the weather was like. A small guesture, but I found it very endearing.

We chatted about the band's punk rock beginnings, their recent gothic leanings, and the record label they just started. Very cool, very personable.

My article is here and if you want to listen to the full, 20-minute interview, I've included it below.

Matt Skiba Interview [WMA]

Heard It on the Internet: The Killers - Human (Ocelot Remix)

That wife of mine sure hates the Killers. She hates Brandon Flowers. She hates "Human." And she really hates the line "Are we human/Or are we dancer?" I'm pretty found of the band. I like the new song. And I really like robots. All of those things combined make this remix great for me.

The Killers - Human (Ocelot Remix) [MP3]

Heard It on the Internet: Jesus Walks D'NB REMIX

I decided this morning that I needed to listen to Jesus Walks this morning, but didn't have it on my iPod. I found a very cool drum 'n bass version by DJ Zinc.

Kanye West - Jesus Walks (DJ Zinc D'N B Mix) [Mp3]

Heard It on the Internet: Burntpiano

For all the hype, the MGMT album is not that great. However, I really like this instrumental cover of "Kids.".

Burntpiano was bored at work so he just went ahead and recorded this track.

"It was a slow day at work today, so I was messing around with some new synths, trying to find new sounds. I started playing everyone's favorite synthline, and one thing led to another, and I had a half finished track. I went home and finished it up. The track I guess really isn't a remix, but rather a cover, since I didn't use any elements from the original. And the vocals (which may piss some off) are from a computer. Not anything trying to replace the original or the upcoming soulwax remix, but just something fun." (via Southside Discotech)

MGMT - Kids (Burntpiano Robo Remix) [MP3]

Heard It on the Internet: Does It Offend You, Yeah?

MTV does still show videos...at 11 p.m. on Sunday night...for one hour...with commercials. MTV's Subterranean is the new incarnation of 120 Minutes, focusing mostly on indie and experimental stuff.

Every once in a while I'll find something I like. Does It Offend You, Yeah? is a pretty lousy name for a band, but makes some entertaining, dancey, vocoder fun. I checked out the album this morning. Not half bad.

Dawn of the Dead [Mp3]
We are Rockstars [MP3]

Heard It on the Internet: Neon Coyote

Take Jay-Z's smooth delivery and mix it with Neon Coyote's minimal production and you end up this killer track:

Jay-z feat. Pharrell - I Know (Neon Coyote Remix) [MP3] (via Asian Dan)