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Unless you were born with one of those silver spoons, you likely work a day job, sneaking time for your own business when not taking care of someone else's. You're not alone. Every week, Brandon Stosuy finds out how our favorite indie artists make ends meet...

When I spoke with main Man Man Ryan Kattner, a.k.a. Honus Honus, his troupe of Philadelphia noisemakers was in a fittingly loud van en route to a headlining show at the BackBooth in Orlando -- Pong, squeaks, chickens, sound loops, Middle Eastern radio, and various strands of skronk spiraled in the background during our conversation. (A trio of Florida dates is followed by Athens then the free McCarren Park show this weekend in our neck of the woods, etc.) Most folks know Kattner sports that Manson stache, charms Modest Mouse fans, gobbles vegan gourmet, and rocks out while the peanut and cilantro-infused noodles are still digesting -- but until recently he steamed milk for coffee lovers at the Last Drop in the City of Brotherly Love. (See you if you can spot him at the café's Belle & Sebastian-blasting MySpace).

While we spoke he often switched to the present tense regarding the barista gig and mentioned he isn't making enough from Man Man to pay the bills. So yeah, like many folks in many currently successful bands, he might not be a day-job ex-pat just yet. I don't feel like I'm jinxing or hexing him by saying that: Kattner's definitely fond of his time at the Last Drop; in fact, I didn't bother transcribing a few extra riffs on how "awesome" the folks are/and the place is, etc. (It's sorta interesting to see the various overlaps/differences between this talk and the one with Hutch of the Thermals in mid-March.)

Of course, Man Man's known more for manic shows (white pants, white heat) than coffee skills, so it's great they were able to pass along this version of a new song, "Spooky Jookie," captured in all its shaggy-waltzing glory at D.C.'s 9:30 club. You'll find it after our conversation.

More nightvision fun from the Glasslands shoot. YYYs keep coming with the Is Is vids; last week they gave us "Down Boy," but this one's for the EP's palm-muted 'n' dirty lead track -- and it's got a special place in their hearts and loins. Nick recently told NME that "Rockers" is "one of the most bad-ass things I've ever heard," while Karen minced some words saying "It's by far the most carnal [track on the EP], and the things that first come to mind when I listen to it are the things I won't really share with anyone!" And as they say: When you can't share, get into some bodysuited backcrawling.

Watch it at Yahoo.

Because baby boomers control the mainstream media, and because 40 is a nice, round number, we've been hearing and reading a lot lately about 1967 and the Summer of Love. But if you're under the age of 65, there's a good chance the breathless hype has you feeling unimpressed. Sure it's worthwhile history, and some of the music was great, but come on -- Woodstock wasn't even for another two years!

Enough already. We're looking for a new summer to feel nostalgic about. Not so far back that it's completely obscure; not so recent that we can all remember it perfectly. A summer where a lot of important stuff happened. We submit, for your consideration, the summer of 1994.

Good news/bad news for Walkmen fans. Despite the band's brash display of three new tunes this past year ("Red River" for Spidey 3, "I Lost You" and "What Happened To You" for Soundcheck), a new update to the band's site indicates it's gonna be awhile 'til we get a new album from the BK crew. BUT the Walkmen love you, so a gift has been made of this song recorded in Paul's basement, which "isn't exactly in line with the other stuff we are doing now, and our record is a little ways off ... It's our first instrumental track." So, nothing for you Ham-croon lovers, but those that like their Walkmen woozy might find this still-tipsy-the-morning-after wobbler pretty cute. Or not, but whatever ... a gift's a gift.

The Walkmen - "Lemon Hill" (MP3)

How'd they settle on that name?

We were gonna call it Dan Brown's Gangsta Blues, but in the end we decided on Lemon Hill.

Naturally.

[Pic from the Walkmen @ Skylight Studios 4/20/06.]

We’ve posted Codebreaker and Miami Horror quite a few times before… (as you may or may not know Miami Horror is the production force behind Gameboy/Gamegirl). So… Codebreaker versus Miami Horror has us pretty excited over here at BIGSTEREO. I have to say, Miami Horror’s take on “Exiled” is a breath of fresh air… taking it in a bit of a different direction. It’s a great example of how a great remix should be done: an artist’s own interpretation and revisualization but never totally departing from the original.

Plus, I love the cleaner synthier sounds — a nice departure from all the dirtier Justicesque noises that have been flooding the dance floors as of late. Oh man… are the Justice fanboys gonna nail my balls to the wall or what?

Codebreaker - “Exiled” (Miami Horror remix) (mp3)

With MH’s collaborations with Curtis Vodka and Gameboy/Gamegirl and his remix work for bands like Midnight Juggernauts and support from bigger blogs like GvB… needless to say, we expect big things from this guy. Oh man, the pressure is on.

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Last seen warming up his pipes at the Stripes show, Rufus Wainwright does some celeb spotting of his own during off-stage hours. Ruf talked to SPIN about being out and about in show biz...

“If they stay in the closet, they’re going to make a lot more money. I go to the same gym as Anderson Cooper. When I look at him lifting those five-pound weights, it makes me think, ‘He’s just trying to live his life and be all that he can be.’ But he still goes to the gayest gym in New York.”

Next time you're working out at Equinox, look for the straight-talking news anchor with the cool iPod. For what it's worth Rufus, after that you are never gonna get in Anderson's bump. And judging by his blush, neither is Kathy Griffin.

 

When we heard the new Rentals tune, we threw down the gauntlet at camp Weezer, saying "your move." Rivers took that shit to heart. A new update to weezer.com, complete with kiddie pic...

"Hey Party-People,

Weezer is just polishing up a batch of songs for a recording session that is going to start at the beginning of July. This will be the final recording session for our 6th album which we aim to put out in the first half of 2008. We hope you are all having good times.

Love,

R-dawg"The cute kid looks like Lil R-dawg, but we can't confirm that. No word on whether Weezer's sixth will include Cuomo demo "Pig." By the way Rivers, what's up with the lawsuit?

While you try to figure if you're psyched for round six, here's a little Weezer influence in action; check the XYZ Affair, a band of NYU kids we stumbled upon during LES show-hopping sessions, taking a page from the flow of Rivers' geeky power-pop with an added dollop of over-the-top theatricality (think Queen).

The XYZ Affair - "Little Fool" (MP3)
The XYZ Affair - "Ideals" (MP3)

More XYZ here.

Kanye takes videos really, really seriously. And Hype Williams keeps it nothing but high-concept for "Stronger": The Daft robots monitor world events and tweak the settings on million-dollar-Kanye so he can be a harder, better, faster, stronger playa. Think about it: Only a bionic Kanyego could get away with those ventilated, venetian whiteglasses. May be a slowed-up Punk sample, but the clip's all about speed, from the blurry-fast motorcycle to the stutter-shot dancing West. And the Japanese military seems to be freaking out over all of this, probably 'cause they rightly fear Kanye is about to unleash the world's perfect pickup line: "There's a 1,000 yous but only one of me." Try it next time you're out! (But not to those Daft hands, unless you want "our work is never over" imprinted on your cheek.) Anybody wanna translate those subtitles?

Dear everyone, please meet Ghosts on Tape. This guy is in a league of his own. He’s producing some crazy shit MINUS any type of computer OR vinyl. WHATT?!?!?! I guess his big bulky bag of tricks holds floppy disks, and a few samplers and sequencers. The only thing more prehistoric than that would be if he tried to dj with 8-tracks or cassettes. In his live performances, he does everything on the fly lookin’ like a line-order cook doing 28 kajillion different things…. pushin’ buttons, flippin’ switches, tappin’ bitches and changin’ floppy disks. I would have never imagined the first time I heard his stuff. But I’m really liking what he’s crankin out. His roots are in house, but he’s cheatin on the ‘ol lady techno with skanky miss hip-hop sample. (Nann Juke remix is my fav)

He has some tracks coming out on the 3-way split release from Pish Posh of North America on July 28th and a full-length due out next year.

if you want to see the man in action, come check him out this thursday at the house of shields (39 new montgomery, SF)

Ghosts on Tape - GangsterPlayer

Ghosts on Tape - Mogadishu Night Life

Ghosts on Tape - Nann Juke rmx

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AHHHHHHH. Here’s your reward for making it through a long, hot summer day.

A-Trak turns up the heat on the Bumblebeez’ “Dr. Love” — creating a track that is very A-Trak-ish. Is that an adjective? I dunno. But there’s enough crazy influences on this mix that could only result from a combination of the Bumblebeez and A-Trak. I think I may like this an edge better than the original.

Apologies ahead of time, but I gotta keep this streaming for now. I hate to do it, but you know one of those other blogs will have some shitty rip for you in no time. Or better yet, actually buy the damn track when it comes out on July 7th. Pre-order here. The single has remixes by other favs the Soft Tigers and Architecture In Helsinki.

Bumblebeez - “Dr Love” (Trizzy’s Free iPhone Mix)

I wonder if we’ll get a million search hits for “free iPhone” now.

Oh and if you still haven’t seen the Bumblebeez video for “Dr. Love” it is posted back here — best video of the year. I swear I watch it daily… and laugh.

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