Mario Kart for Wii Finally Makes an Appearance

Once again, Digg has lead me to solid gold, this time in the form of the first Mario Kart video for the Wii. While most of it looks pretty familiar from previous installments...except for one part. They now have motorcycles.

While Super Smash Bros. Brawl was just released and is probably the best game out for Nintendo's new library; Mario Kart looks infinitely better. Check it out here for yourself. Supposed release date is late April, but might be pushed back.

New Why? Video and Don't Forget Sunday's Show

After being interviewed by Ed a week or so ago and then getting the stamp of approval by Pitchfork, Why? is doing pretty good for themselves - all this obviously on the heels of their newest release, Alopecia, which hit stores on March 11. The best news of all is obviously the FREE show they will be playing in New Haven on Sunday and the $10 show on Monday in Northampton for all those stuck in some sort of Easter activity.

After missing various dates on our own calendar I'll be sure to drag my ass out on Sunday for a couple of drinks and a good time. In the meantime, Why?'s video for "Song of a Sad Assassin" was recently released. Ed will be happy to know that animator Mike L. Mayfield of Family Guy fame directed it. You can check the video out below.

DeVotchKa Delivers 'A Mad & Faithful Telling'

DeVotchKa's fifth full-length album is out and has graced many a Livejournal community post. Remember them from the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack? A Mad & Faithful Telling is a logical progression since their 2004 How It Ends and takes a consistently indie direction in a Spanish/Mexican influenced grouping of a mean and driving brass section.

While DeVotchKa is not exactly balkan, a safe comparison can be made to Beirut's sound with the similarities in accordion and orchestral arrangements. It's exciting and dark.

Apparently they've picked "Transliterator" as the record's first single, but there is something about "The Clockwise Witness" that is more commercial, in a good way.

1. Basso Profundo
2. Along the Way
3. The Clockwise Witness
4. Head Honcho
5. Comrade Z
6. Transliterator
7. Blessing in Disguise
8. Undone
9. Strizzalo
10. New World

Go get it. It was out as of March 18.

New (and the first) Black Kids Video

For everyone who has been itching for something more from the Black Kids since their free giveaway EP in August, they now have an official single, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You," and video. And here it is:

Rate My Spring Concert

It's about that time of year. Universities are announcing their spring week concerts where students typically get a rare chance to see relatively big acts for relatively cheap. It's sort of a perk. From my college experience, spring concerts were met with disappointment and jealousy of nearby schools getting more relevant acts.

Two years ago, my school was able to land the highly coveted act Lifehouse, despite the fact that they haven't been popular since 2001. Last year we got Busta Rhymes, which wasn't awful, but again he didn't put out a worthwhile album since the late 90s. Although to CCSU's credit, he did have a hit in 2006.

This brings us to this year. What school flopped and what school actually got it right? Before I get to that I want to just throw out the question and if someone can answer it that would be wonderful. Who picks these acts? I know it is the students, but I just imagine some grad student in their mid-20s thumbing through her out of touch CD collection when these bands are picked.

The Winner: Brown University
Holy shit. Leave it to the rich and intelligent kids to pull off this. Day one, which is April 11 but don't worry tickets are sold out, is Lupe Fiasco AND Vampire Weekend. If I ever attending a school that featured a song and a half with either of those acts I would be happy. But wait, there's a day two. April 12 brings in M.I.A. AND Girl Talk. I don't think I need to go on about how great that weekend is. And the whole weekend comes in at $27 total for students. Someone knows how to plan a spring weekend at Brown. You have sweet, big name, expensive headliners and then fairly cheap, but just as amazing opening acts. You win. A+.

The Losers: Everyone else
I'm almost kidding, but here's a run down on some of the other local colleges I've gotten wind of so far and if you know of any other's -- whether they are worth noting or worth making fun of -- please leave a comment.

The University of Connecticut
I'm giving UConn a big C- on this one with the ability for a retake if something else is announced. Their site says no announcement until March 24, but I already heard Jason Mraz (known strictly for "The Remedy" and his appearances on VH1's I Love the 90s) was going to be there. A photo of him, what looks to be a comedian that I don't recognize and another (presumably) worthless act rounds out this spring concert. For a university that has had the likes of Nas just a couple years ago and are known for bringing in solid acts, this is a big step backwards into the land of state schools.

Speaking of...
CCSU
I'm going to give Central a B- just for actually being relevant believe it or not. You may hear the bill Fabolous and OneRepublic and cringe, but both have had hits in the last 12 months or so. Also, "Apologize" is great in a radio-type of way. CCSU is usually the one to book a band like OneRepublic 5-6 years after their hit single, so congrats on not completely blowing this one.

ECSU
Here we go! Eastern "pulls a Central" bringing in Third Eye Blind, though if we want to be fair Third Eye Blind is a bit more on the relevant side than Lifehouse. There will be plenty of people who eat this up, but it still deserves a C.

I didn't see any information on SCSU or WCSU. Feel free to pass it on.

Wesleyan University
Now to the private schools with inevitably more money and therefore better concerts. If you check our calendar you'll see this school is doing A LOT of good things. Beach House next month for one and if I confirm YACHT is the YACHT I know and love, then that will be another one. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but The Cools Kid's MySpace says they will be at the school on May 7. If that's the start or even the end of the spring concert then I can already hand over an A-.

No news from Trinity or University of Hartford, but Trinity will be holding their International Hip-Hop Festival on April 4-6. I don't believe that counts as their spring concert, but it is free and is in that time frame, so I'm tossing it out there.

Sacred Heart is bringing in Ne-Yo and T-Pain, which has to be given the same grade as CCSU, a B-, just for being relevant. It's not a good lineup by any means, but it isn't Lifehouse or Reel Big Fish. Yale is bringing in some hip-hop, apparently. But no news on who yet. No word on Fairfield U. Or Clark University, Holy Cross, WPI or URI for that matter. So yeah, anything in the Providence, lower Mass., Connecticut area that I missed let me know.

Pontiac Meets Spy Hunter

You may remember the arcade or NES game Spy Hunter and one look at the new Pontiac commercial advertising their G8 GT will bring those memories flooding back. The game was first released in 1983, but has been reincarnated in a couple of arcade greatest hit collections as recently as 2003.

Edit: I guess I can't embed this since the video is too wide. Direct link is here.

Editing Can Make Anyone Good

So this Norwegian guy can't play the drums or the piano at all, but he can edit video really well. This is actually really cool and came out really awesome, and serves as a post. Ed and Melissa are in NYC at the moment and I was doing things this weekend, so yeah, enjoy.