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Who wins in a cage match -- Danielson Famile, I'm From Barcelona, or the Polyphonic Spree? Daniel has the biggest reason to fight: Tim DeLaughter nabbed dude’s choral robe idea, landed car commercial placement, etc. On the other hand, I'm From Barcelona are Swedish (sneaky), include five more members than the Spree, sport adventurous facial hair and glasses, and manage to drag 29 folks around without always sounding like 29 folks -- it's that sleek, quick-like-a-butterfly thing. Even without the extra person power, the Polyphonic Spree would be pretty easy to knock out: Anything but fragile, the titanic Texans disregard restraint in favor of what has by now become a predictable, easily telegraphed, at time self-parodying crowded house.

On May 25th, 1977 Star Wars entered our collective consciousness. If you're old enough to remember the film's opening day, well, you're older than us; but George Lucas (bless his wookie heart) had at least thirty years of plot tinkering to do, thus ensuring all future generations would drop their allowance on toys you're not even supposed to take out of the goddamned box. ANYWAY, here at Stereogum we're gonna celebrate the only way we know how: by breaking down the sci-fi saga's greatest contributions to music, and not posting a Nerf Herder MP3.

Darth Vader Gets His Own Theme
(Middle of space, Empire Strikes Back)
One of the most famous music motifs of the last thirty years, The Imperial March didn't actually appear until the beginning of Empire. But since then it has been clubbed up, scratched out, and, astonishingly, hand-farted by a guy with way too much free time (oh YouTube, are we reaching the point of diminishing returns? No? Good.). As scenes go, pizza-pie shaped destroyers floating aimlessly in space isn't all that thrilling; it's the perfect, 18-note expression of pure evil that makes it memorable.

They say "three's a trend," so look out parents! This emo-plague has got some legs (in black leggings) and if North Dakota and southern California succumbed to the scare-mongering, who are Utah news teams to resist? Beehive State ABC affiliate offer their investigation into "this underground culture of kids who wear black clothing and hair." Watch it here (via Gawker).

Or really, don't, 'cause you know the drill: online tests to see how deep goes your emo ("black like my soul" or "red like blood"?), quotes from kids ("they're always depressed"), how-to books, the points-for-pain program, the clothes, and the clueless parents. But nestled in there is a quote from counselor Judith Zimmerman:

I think it's hard to define what's a fashion statement, and what's a commitment to a lifestyle.

A momentary lapse of unreason. Then it's back to detailing the cutting (only for "advanced emos," grasshopper), the awesome haircuts ("The Gun Shot Wound"!), and the gender bending.

The coup de grâce, though, comes via the suicidal sounds of Ben Gibbard.

Director Anton Corbijn took a shoestring budget of 3 million quid (infusing lots of his own cash) and an actor "plucked ... from obscurity" (Sam Riley) to create Control, the much buzzed-about biopic on post-punk legend Ian Curtis. The flick was the talk of the Cannes Film Festival, picking up the top prize for Best European Film. This four minute trailer will get you psyched, too -- and relieved that it looks like they did the Joy Division icon's tragic life justice. French subtitles are a bonus.
(via Pop Candy)

The trippy, psych soundscapes that earn Minus Story comparisons to bands like the Flaming Lips crop up on the band's worthy forthcoming LP My Ion Truss, though the far-flung outfit (based out of Kansas City, New York, Chicago) refine their mind-bending tones for track after track of emotional pop. Minus Story had producer John Congleton (Explosions In the Sky, The Polyphonic Spree) on board for this one -- the first time they've handed the control board to someone outside the band -- allowing the band to focus more on the tunes. The first track for your consideration is their best yet, the warmblooded heart-tugger "Battle Of Our Lives," while "Stitch Me Up" takes 'em into beefier rhythmic terrain.

Minus Story - "Battle Of Our Lives" (MP3)
Minus Story - "Stitch Me Up" (MP3)

My Ion Truss is out 6/19 on Jagjaguwar. Tour dates after the jump.

Hot new video for Dead Disco’s hot new single: “You’re Out.” I love them… and not just because they’re three of the hottest chicks ever. Hot.

We posted the Frank Music remix of “You’re Out” a few days ago. Make sure to cop that if you haven’t yet.

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In addition to reprinting Lily's MySpace blog posts, we've done our best to keep up with Ms. Allen's tour exploits, which have included constant covers of Blondie's "Heart Of Glass." News of Lil's crush on Debbie made it to the Today show producers, who arranged for Blondie and Lily to perform the tune as part of the show's summer concert series this morning. Harry admits to minimal rehearsal time with Lily and mentions Allen's "interesting" voice, and their performance proves Debbie right on both counts (work out those harmonies, ladies). Watch it at NBC.

UPDATE: Blondie + Lily + NBC = MP3 over at Culture Bully.

That post title is your SPOILER ALERT, so be mindful. Before heading down to the dim sum joint to eat with Man Man, we triple checked our TiVOs and then checked 'em one more time. The LOST creators promised a paradigm shift with the season finalé's last five minutes ... and, wow. But before we get to that, let's recap our tenuous reasoning for mentioning the ep on Stereogum. We had:

1. A black-bearded pill-popping Jack, driving to a funeral parlor called Hoffs/Drawlar (anagram for "flash forward"!) -- clearly unhinged and depressed because of said beard and his listening to Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice." (By the way, the date on Jack's newspaper clipping in that scene is 4/5/07, the 13th anniversary of Kurt's death.)
2. The Looking Glass code being programmed by a musician with a soft spot for the Beach Boys (to stop the station's frequency jamming, Charlie needed to tap the melody to "Good Vibrations," though Jacob probably would have appreciated "God Only Knows").
3. R.I.P DriveSHAFT

You learn so much by sharing a meal with Man Man. For instance, when freak show ringleader Honus Honus is off stage, he goes by the name Ryan and enjoys gourmet vegan cooking. Actually, the band's nutritional intake consists of much more than just non-dairy and veggies (a steady diet of meat, fish, eggs, Waits, Zappa, and rum), but Post Punk Kitchen chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz took over the meal-prep area at Chinatown's Grand Harmony Palace on Mott Street and provided an eight-course meal of various vegan dishes that kept the men men (who just wrapped a tour with Modest Mouse) and a roomful of foodie-music fans sated.

After an open bar, a first course of appetizers and contortionists, getting to meet Lou of Stereofave Lewis & Clarke, and a robust band-led tableside debate of the merits of a vegan lifestyle, the men men turned the Palace into a sanctum for their props 'n' freak-pop shenanigans. Lots of Six Demon Bagging (including faves "Hot Bats," "Push The Eagle's Stomach," "Banana Ghost," and set-closing tear-jerker "Van Helsing Boombox") spiced up the set, though nothing was as much fun as watching the faces of our dining companions who had never seen the band before, and nothing was as surprising as how the soothing sounds of Man Man eased our vegan indigestion. Here's the Honus Honus before and after...

Hats off to New York by New York for yet another incredible, memorable event. NY Mag promises the next party will be the best yet, although after karaoke with Of Montreal and dining with Man Man, they've already thrust that bar damn high. Take the jump for more pics of the band, the bodytwisters, and the folks onhand to enjoy the feast.

Good morning robot fans! Some of you may noticed that the site looks a little silly this morning. Downright naked perhaps. Some of you may have the graphics files cached, and so all might look normal to you, save for when you look for the MP3 files and notice they're missing.

Our fileserver literally melted last night. The poor machine lives in a datacenter where the AC failed, and it just couldn't take the heat. It's being replaced and restored as we speak, but MFR might look naked for a little bit longer just yet. So hang in there, we'll be back soon.

-Rbts

Update: We're back! Sorry for our nudeness.