• Helms Alee

Aw Total Fest, you’re the best. You know how to throw a real party - it's Monday and I'm still spent. The people of Missoula put a lot of work into getting this festival together, and they really do a hell of a job. The vibe of the entire weekend is entirely positive and fun, and the lineup proved to have something to satisfy the tastes of everyone who came. The nights started light with pop and twang, then moved into heavier territory as the evening progressed and alcohol was consumed en masse. There were a lot of Seattle bands I had never seen before that made great impressions, particularly the heavy psychedelia of Wildildlife, the wasteland rock of Atomic Bride, the grimy grind or Filth Mattress, and the stripped down punk of the Blank Its. Despite the drum set falling apart every song, Tacocat was so undeniably fun they started a huge dance pit and crowd surfing - one of the best responses any band got all weekend. Lozen and Helms Alee elicited massive headbanging, especially with their new songs, which sounded amazing. I missed Sandrider’s set, but virtually everyone in the building crammed into the downstairs Palace stage to check them out. Black Elk kept all their clothes on this year, opting to hand out naked men playing cards to all the women in the front row instead of duct-taping their penises to their thighs. As is their want, their set was gnarly and abrasive.

• Black Elk

• Rebreather

There were several great acts from out of town I was introduced to this year as well: Youngstown, Ohio’s Rebreather had some excellent loud doom in the vein of decade-old Isis; Denver’s Git Some (featuring two of the dudes from Planes Mistaken for Stars) played raw, thrashy punk; and the LA/PDX duo Glassell Park 3 used a 6-string banjo and a kick drum made out of a wooden box to wail out some tasty blues garage rock. At the outdoor record swap I got a chance to see Why I Must be Careful up close, and they quickly transfixed everyone around them with seriously technical and bizarre jazz. With so many bands playing it’s hard to catch everything you want to, and I’m sure I missed out on some awesome stuff (specifically Flagstaff’s This Runs on Blood, which I have already been informed I am an idiot for missing).

• Why I Must Be Careful

The only beef I had with the festival was the room sound for a couple of the stages. Unless you were standing close enough to hear the band’s amps directly (which was hard to do a lot of the time), the PA mixes further back in the room sounded like muddy poop more often than not, especially on the second stages both upstairs and down. It’s hard to know if the problem was gear or the guys running it, but it’s something that should probably be addressed. Really though, it’s minor gripe on an otherwise unparalleled music festival. The bands, atmosphere, and energy at Total Fest are completely unique and organic, thanks in no small part to the tireless citizens of Missoula who volunteer countless hours making sure everything runs smoothly. It’s exceptional, and unfortunately all too rare in music festivals these days.

Your cousin died. You’ve got the shingles…and, oh God, they are all over your face. Your rectum prolapsed and you need to see a specialist. You literally CAN NOT stop going to the bathroom.

Personally, I am most excited for the return of Oakland’s Drunk Horse, an excellent Wantage band that has been off the road for far too long (their bassist Cyrus has been steadily shredding in Saviours during their hiatus). They played one of the best shows I ever saw in Bellingham a few years ago and earned themselves an almost cult-like appreciation there, but then they dropped off the radar. Their 2005 release In Tongues was stellar, particularly their epic, King Crimsony instrumental “Skydog” (though it’s somewhat atypical of the rest of the more straight-up, hard-boogie riffs on the record).

I’m also excited that there’s a whole mess of bands playing this year that I’ve never heard of. That’s the great thing about a three day festival with a handful of bands you know you like: chances are you’ll probably like the ones you’re introduced to as well. The full lineup can be found at the Total Blog. I suggest you make it your business to head east; Total Fest is not to be missed.

The motherf-ing 10th Annual Gathering is happening RIGHT NOW. Why I am I not there, swingin' hatchets with all the other ninjas? I DON'T KNOW! Ice Cube is there. So is Vanilla Ice. And GWAR, Coolio, Tech N9ne, and, of course, ICP and Twiztid. They even have helicopter rides. Anyway, for those lucky enough to go, check out this Survival Guide on Videogum.

I will see you next year, suckas.

Ex-Seattle soul crooner and discomforting funnyman Reggie Watts lends vocals to the forthcoming DFA 12" from Still Going, who were responsible for 2007's unstoppable "Still Going Theme." The a-side of the new 12" is called "Spaghetti Circus," the b-side is called "Untitled Love," and Reggie sings on both. You can hear clips of the tracks at FACT Magazine.

(ht Michaelangelo Matos)

[Part I], [Part II], & [Part III]

It's Blur.

Brogues01 writes: "I think alot of people have forgotten how good Blur are. Can anyone name a band from the last 10 years with a similar variety of songs?"

Calvin Harris writes: "Somebody has to play at the same time as Blur and the Prodigy...and that somebody is — sadly — me."

Erol Alkan writes: "Jesus Christ. 'For Tomorrow' still sends a chill down my spine."

IleneJenette writes: "How fast are they playin'!?"

Emily Eavis writes: "Blur are blowing people's minds."

Bryony Taylor writes: "Graham's wearing the same t-shirt he wore at Alexandra Palace in '94!"

Kit S. writes: "'This Is A Low' is sending a huge swell of emotion through the crowd."

The Guardian's Laura Barton writes: "When Albarn's voice gives way a little in 'Beetlebum', the crowd rushes to catch it. The band looks genuinely delighted as they look out over the flags, over the crowd with its sunburned noses and glitter-smeared faces, and peacock feathers in its hair, and far off to the countryside of Somerset and the floating candles flaring up into the sky. There is a pause as they seem to take in the magnificence of what they have done."

Listen while you can.

Watch while you can.

Jon A. writes: "This is both vintage Blur and somehow new having been missed for so long. Generations singing along together."

Kit S. writes: "It ends with 'The Universal' and tens of thousands of arms held aloft."

Jon A. writes: "A friend of mine said, 'I was so happy all the way.'"

The Guardian's Tim Jonze writes: "Who gave these guys permission to have the time of their lives?"

"Blur are sticking their fingers up to dad-rock by falling in love all over again with the dumb art of playing pop music — and playing it loudly. 'Girls & Boys' literally throbs with sordid energy, 'Song 2' sees the crowd threatening to pogo themselves off the earth's axis, and 'Parklife' turns every man, woman, and anarcho-crustie into a cockney geeza."

"But for all their energy, it's the sad songs that work best: 'To The End', 'The Universal', 'This Is A Low'. Weirder still is the reaction to 'Tender', a song never really rated (at least by me) as a classic, transformed into a joyous hug-a-long that reverberates around the crowd after the first encore and the second encore."

"Blur made sure that the real winner at this year's Glastonbury was pop music."

"And we're all hugging each other."

Full, official live videos from new & unsigned acts, including a new song by Dimbleby & Capper, are up here. Assorted clips will also, bootleg-permitting, continue to stack up in the coming weeks.

But really, everyone's saying the same thing.

Hyde Park? How can it top this?

It really, really, really did happen.

Photos by the BBC.

[Part I] & [Part II]

After a bit of wet start, the sun's come out for Glastonbury.

And you know what that means.

It means Jarvis Cocker was everywhere today, surprise-guesting on multiple stages and showing up to play bass for Spinal Tap during the more-appropriate-than-ever "Big Bottoms".

It means a gang of fans dressed as trolls wandered the grounds and guerilla-hugged the crowds.

And it means people like Dizzee Rascal and Bruce Springsteen were so far the biggest draws of the weekend. In front of a rammed crowd at the Pyramid Stage, Dizzee, in particular, played the massive "Dance Wiv Me" and "Bonkers," but also his best like "Stand Up Tall," "Sirens," and "Pussyole (Old Skool)," all on top of covering M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name" — "They call me Wiley!" — and leading the festival to a Michael Jackson medley. BBC writes: "'We lost a legend this week,' he said. 'So I think we should do a little something to remember all the great music he brought us.' Tens of thousands of fans joined in with a chorus of 'Thriller,' and Rascal played snippets of other hits including 'Billie Jean' and 'Another Part Of Me'. Pharrell Williams, The Streets, Lily Allen, and Gabriella Cilmi are among the other artists who have paid tribute."

Donna On The Beach writes: "Just saw on Glastonbury coverage a sign, 'Pretending 2b an aeroplane allowed in this area.'"

Maximo Park writes: "Skream's La Roux remix sent everyone off their trollies! Let's get ravey!!!"

The Guardian writes: "Most overheard conversation at Glastonbury: 'Why would you bring children here? It's tantamount to child abuse.'"

Video clips of loads of acts, including Skream, Benga, Kasabian, Neil Young, Pendulum, Lady GaGa, The Specials, The Wonder Stuff, Bruce Springsteen, N.E.R.D., Sparrow & The Workshop, and Jamie T, are finally trickling out here.

Photos by the BBC & Glastonbury staff.

[Part I]

Michael Jackson has put a dark cloud over the Glastonbury Festival, but everything buzzes on.

Today, The Guardian writes: "There are alot of drag queens at The Guardian lounge. They're making wellies work for them."

And: "[Lady GaGa] has just donned a contraption that shoots sparks from her breasts. You don't get that at Fleet Foxes."

Meanwhile, BBC 6 Music writes: "Glad to see Terry Hall hasn't given in to the smilers of the world."

The Rakes, "Have you heard the good news about Jacko?"

Elsewhere, impossibly, The Streets crop-circles his face in the fields.

Photos by Mike Skinner, Tony Kinlan, Glastonbury staff, & Anthony Devlin.

This year's Glastonbury Festival just started and we're forced to once again wish we were globe-trotting super-spy playboy pop billionaires to be able to join everyone.

The largest music festival in the world, going on for nearly forty years, Glastonbury is both family-run and traditionally non-corporate — charities are the usual sole sponsors — but preposterously eclectic as well, with 200,000 people, dozens of distinct areas, more stages than you can list, and an every-genre line-up as long as the equator. All of it runs 24 hours a day for four days.

This year's bands are more interesting than usual. Romanticizing aside.

Hook our veins up to at least (yes!) Lilly Allen, Skream, Madness, Altern-8, Erol Alkan, The Japanese Popstars, Caspa, MPHO, The Streets, Ray Davies, East 17, Tinchy Stryder, Chase & Status, Josh Wink, Dimbleby & Capper, Ladyhawke, Prodigy, Jarvis Cocker, Roots Manuva, Tindersticks, Timo Maas, Benga, Q-Tip, The Wonder Stuff, Robyn Hitchcock, Jamie T, Stanton Warriors, Wonky Pop, Dizzee Rascal, The Specials, Kasabian, Little Boots, and, of course, Blur.

Look at the many hundreds of names.

Bad news?

Unlike other years, the round-the-clock, commercial-free coverage snubs anyone from outside the U.K. Clever and questionably legal proxies can sort you out. But you'll likely have easier luck listening to the live radio-stream and stirring up the patience to poke around for video clips.

Damn.

We wish were there.

Let's pretend.

A party on a Russian ship in the middle of the ocean, a solar eclipse, and Boredoms: Sounds like a blast, just take it easy on the hallucinogens, lest you never come back from this one.

Organizers of Tokara The Sun & Moon Festival have booked a Russian ferry and hired the Boredoms, along with New York’s Gang Gang Dance and Japan’s Goma, to play a show during the next Saros 136 eclipse, which will take place July 22. The spectacle is subtitled, “The Lucy in the Sky With Diamond Ring Tour.”

July’s eclipse will be extraordinarily long — the totality of the eclipse, the point at which the moon is fully obscuring the sun, will reach 6 minutes, 39 seconds. According to NASA, the umbra of the eclipse will cut a path straight across China and the South Pacific, with the best viewpoint off the southern coast of Japan, at 24.2 degrees N, 144.1 degrees E, when the sun is 86 degrees overhead.