Beck hasn’t felt like a loser in a long time, and with the announcement of his latest venture into live performances, he’s setting up a good pace to return to full time tours. This latest summer announcement, isn’t a full blown tour, but it has enough dates to please the majority of Beck fans for now.

Check out Beck in a city near you, or just wait for him to announce a really lengthy tour.

06-25 Arendal, Norway - Hove Festival
06-27 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
06-28 St. Gallen, Switzerland - St. Gallen Festival
06-30 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
07-04 London, England - Hyde Park (O2 Wireless Festival)
07-06 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-07 Paris, France - Olympia
07-09 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
08-22 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
08-30 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-20 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl ^
09-27 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)

When I was younger, I used to call Portishead “porpoise head”. I never saw the appeal.

Now that I’ve lived another 10 years, I see the talent and hear the amazing musical stylings of Portishead for more than just a random musical endeavor. The lyrics to any Portishead song can be somewhat haunting, and the tone in which the delivery breaks through the vapid music scene, is just top notch.

With their latest album, you can tell that they are up to their old antics, and aspiring for a little more.

You can stream the whole Portishead album now, and see if you like it…or if you’ll stick to your metal.

P.s Metal rules!

Cody McEntire is giving Haslam, Daewon, and Bachinsky a run for their money in the quarterpipe trickery department.

Read the full post by jason@streetcorner

Just when you thought this section was only videos, here’s some fresh air for you skateboard art collectors; Matt & Mark Owen recently collaborated with Zoo York to design six new skateboard decks for the skate company’s “Artist Series” and these are looking interesting. Sure they aren’t the City Series from Chocolate, or the Photo series from Stereo Skateboards, but come on…these are still worth checking out.

The series takes inspiration from literature in the realms of “Urban” jungle, with a hint of NYC for good measure. Zoo York has definitely been doing quite well in recent times, with a lot of focus on limited edition skateboards and artist collaborations. Here’s the decks, enjoy….

Rx Bandits have announced a summer tour with Portugal. the Man as direct support and Maps & Atlases, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and Facing New York on select dates…of course this is NOT your average tour, as it isn’t sponsored by any corporations….or is it? Scary huh? The Rx Bandits are working hard on bringing the rock, so maybe save a few bucks and instead of going to the summer festivals, check out the guys in Rx Bandits for some good time tunes! Here are the tourdates….

Datesw/ Portugal. The Man and Facing New York
7/15 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
7/17 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
7/18 Austin, TX – Emo’s Outside
7/19 Dallas, TX – House of Blues – Cambridge Room
7/20 Houston, TX – Meridian – Red Room
7/21 New Orleans, LA – The Parish at House of Blues
7/22 Tallahassee, FL – Floyd’s Music Store
7/23 St. Petersburg, FL – State Theatre
7/24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
7/25 Orlando, FL – The Social
7/26 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
7/27 Wilmington, NC – The Soapbox

w/ Portugal. The Man and Maps & Atlases
7/29 Baltimore, MD – The Ottobar
7/30 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore at the TLA
7/31 S. Hackensack, NJ – School of Rock
8/1 New York, NY – Highline Ballroom
8/2 Allston, MA – Harper’s Ferry
8/3 Rochester, NY – The Club at Water Street
8/5 Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
8/6 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
8/7 Chicago, IL – Metro
8/8 St. Louis, MO – 2 Cents Plain
8/9 Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
8/10 Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room

w/ Portugal. The Man and Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
8/12 Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
8/13 Salt Lake City, UT – Avalon Theatre
8/15 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
8/16 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
8/17 Orangevale, CA – The Boardwalk
8/18 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
8/22 Pomona, CA – Glass House
8/23 Las Vegas, NV – Jillian’s
8/27 West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
8/28 West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
8/30 San Diego, CA – Soma
8/31 Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse
9/1 Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse

Venture Ad.

Read the full post by jason@streetcorner

You know, I’ve defended the Sex Pistols on several occasions when people said they sold out, and that they weren’t even punk.

But today, my friends, I give up…they have sold out.

Just look at these toys…is this really what punk has turned into? The rebellious nature of the music that was once taboo, is now ubiquitous and manufactured in china somewhere in toy format for you kiddies to play with. I’m not sure what to say anymore…but at $40 a set, you too can buy a piece of punk history…or infamy.

Maybe the greatest punk thing to do, is to just not care and make toys, underwear, skateboards, and so much more…on the success of one studio record.

A few years back I was chilling in Downtown Los Angeles, and Rage Against the Machine held a free concert right outside the democratic national convention, turning Los Angeles into a riot zone!

I thought I would never hear about another riot that was motived through music of some kind, and here we are, 2008, and Pennywise’s latest concert turns into a riot! Did they go into one of their anthems and insight a real riot? I’m not sure what sparked the powder keg, but this is great news for punk rock fans that are tired of pop and looking to raise their fist, literally.

It could have just been too many people showing up to see them play, and the venue not having enough room, but still…we need a good punk rock riot.

Silver Jews
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Drag City

As soon as I heard that the Silver Jews were releasing Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, I straightway journeyed to the paramount of Lookout Mountain to exclaim my joy for such an occasion. When you have Pavement in your pedigree, you can put a guarantee on your band’s ability to excite. As I gazed upon the blue/green waters of Lookout Sea, I reminisced about all of the great songs that the Joos have recorded and how I still listen to The Natural Bridge on a regular basis. It’s been a few years since I’ve heard anything new from Silver Jew family. (In fact, American Water was the last Silver Jews album that I purchased despite the reality that they have been regularly releasing sonic gems in my periphery). The slight changes that the Jews have made in this timeframe are a very pleasant surprise, especially if didn’t follow them through this adaptation/reformation (but not renovation). The instrumentals have been fine-tuned; David Berman’s deep vocals seem to have cultivated confidence, creating a sound akin to Lee Hazelwood or even Mr. Cash. I don’t know what else to say about this record other than it rawks. The intro track “What Is Not But Could Be If” is pretty much great: one of those songs that sounds so good it seems to rinse away a bad day. The Joos don’t quit. Thank goodness. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Sky Hero
Rose Hip (Silent Tracks Vol. 1)
Kreativ Network Recordings

Sky Hero is officially in the air. With the release of Rose Hip we are reminded that sound is not always sound. This particular release, more of a “performance/sound art piece” than party mix is composed of 15 tracks (two of them bonus tracks) of raw silence introduced by a consistent sound of something starting and stopping. These starts and stops are the essence of the album, as one forgets he is listening to anything at all until the next track is introduced and audibly startles the listener back into the activity of listening… intently… to nothing… to silence. Maybe it’s all a joke. The perfect solution to rid your ears of today’s appalling music: no music at all. Grab a listen (or download your favorite Sky Hero album) at Last.fm. – Ryan Stephens, Mannerist Zine