Call me a scrooge, but I generally consider Christmas parties to be an obligatory affair. Sure, it’s great to catch up with people you haven’t seen in a while, but I’m not that person who jumps with excitement when the group caroling begins. However, this year I have to give some major props to my friend Bill for throwing the best holiday party in recent memory. He not only managed to convince his wife that an ice luge was necessary, but he also confirmed that I have more dumb luck than anyone in the world.

Did I mention that one of Bill’s neighbors happens to be none other than Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi? I don’t think there’s a clearer definition of dumb luck. Especially since my overall knowledge of the hardcore scene of the late ’80s/early ’90s is seriously lacking (I was five). Frankly, I still can’t believe he even shook my hand.

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I would consider music direction for Nike’s TV ads to be one of my dream jobs. In fact, I’m not sure we’ve gone more than a month without posting something Nike related.

To continue the trend I give you Lebron throwing chalk to Cornershop’s “Candyman.” Siiiiiick.

MP3:

Cornershop - “Candyman”

Due to some really, really dumb luck I had the fortune of running into Fugazi legend Ian MacKaye over the holidays. The brief meeting inspired me to check out some recent releases from Dischord Records, the D.C. label he started in 1980. And I’m glad I did because Faraquet’s anthology (1997–98) is just what I needed to take a trip down memory lane. I remember trying to play this on my guitar during ninth grade Jazz class…

Hot Chip has been up to some interesting things recently. Not only did they just release an EP featuring Robert Wyatt and Geese, but they also hooked up with Peter Gabriel to do a Vampire Weekend cover. Personally, “Made in the Dark” wins for me because it’s just such an elegant song with sneaky guitar swoons that get me every time. Add some Wyatt funktronic vocal stylings and you’ve got yourself a new makeout tune.

Am I the only one who thinks it’s funny for the frontman of a two-piece band to release a solo album? Ok, maybe I am. The Black Keys lead singer will be releasing Keep It Hid on February 10th, so consider yourself warned. You might get tired of listening to the Black Keys sound over and over, but this is truly Auerbach at his finest. Hopefully he keeps the distortion, wah-wahs and organs coming.

And the most random pick of the week goes to… Digable Planets. “Where I’m From” reminds me of a time when hip hop meant listening to smooth flow and even smoother jazz samples - god don’t you miss songs like this and Ahmad’s “Back in the Day?” You can guarantee this makes my New Years Eve party mix.

[Editor's note: This post originally appeared on Aug. 25, 2008, as we were just getting Stranger Dance off the ground. Seeing as how posting over the holidays gets slow, but people's thirst for music doesn't, we've decided to re-post some of our favorite posts from the past year that folks may not have seen. Plus, a soundboard recording of the Outside Lands Radiohead show?! Fuck, yeah!]

For this week’s episode of Panther Picks I decided to post Radiohead’s performance at Outside Lands. Why? Because I’m obsessed and it was a life-changing event. Duh. Special thanks to KC who sent me this great bootleg recording that sounds like it was taken directly from the soundboard - in other words, it’s power-outage free. However, due to file sizes I did have to upload a few songs to BOX.NET Sendspace. Forgiveness please.

Radiohead Live at Outside Lands Festival (8/22/08):

Encore:

Click on photos to enlarge

I should start by saying that I was pretty excited for this show. I’ve been a pretty big fan of the Black Crowes for years, they put on an amazing show the last time I saw them (in 2005 at the 930 Club in Washington DC), and I’m a total sucker for Stones/Faces swagger and Southern-fried rock. Finally, I was excited to see the phenomenal Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi All Stars), who took over lead guitar duties last year. In fact, we were so excited about this show that we bought our tickets in June.

I feel a warning is in order before I get started: the following rant is probably going to make me sound even older and grumpier than I actually am. With that said, this was one of the more disappointing shows I’ve been to in years. Unfortunately, bad sound, weak song choices and awful fans made it impossible for my high expectations to be met.

Before getting too negative, I’ll start with the positives. The Black Crowes are a rock band in the truest sense; you can tell that they’re pros. Every part of the experience has clearly been thoughtfully considered — from the immaculate gear to the pre-show burnt-sage blessing to the prototypical backup singers. The band can also play — I was impressed with the tone and execution of every band member. They also clearly live to play music and each member (especially Chris Robinson) pours a lot into their show. Finally, Dickinson didn’t disappoint. He is one of the best living slide players in my opinion, and he shredded through every single break he took and served as a great foil to Rich Robinson, who has always been a much better rhythm guitarist than soloist. (As a side note, it was also cool to see über-hippie Wavy Gravy, watching the show from the balcony above.)

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