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MP3: Blink-182 – Boring

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MP3: Wale – Wonder Why feat. Mike Posner, Big Sean, & Kenn Starr

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MP3: The Bravery – Rocket (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)

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MP3: The National – The Geese of Beverly Road [Live]

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MP3: Franz Ferdinand – This Fire

I pretty much gave up news postings on this site early on; the big dogs have the monopoly on that one for everything but the most local of scene happenings.  But this is one huge tidbit of news that needs airing.

The rumors of the demise of Virgin Mobile Fest this year have been exaggerated, apparently a great deal.  Press release just dropped tonight letting everyone know the shindig this year will be FREE OF CHARGE:

Virgin Mobile USA, creator of one of the largest and most critically acclaimed music festivals in the U.S., announced today that it would host the 2009 Virgin Mobile Festival on Sunday, August 30, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., free of charge. All tickets will be given away, and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket buyers and Virgin Mobile customers will have the first crack at securing the 35,000 tickets.

Some more good feelings:

To respond to the sharp decrease in national social giving, Virgin Mobile FreeFest will also host a special VIP seating area for those who complete 13 hours of community service at designated homeless youth shelters around the country.

When are these miraculous free tickets being handed out, and how you may ask:

Tickets to the 2009 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be available to the public at http://www.ticketmaster.com at 10 am EST on Saturday, June 27^th. Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket buyers will be invited via email to a private “free-sale” (much like a pre-sale, except free) to be held Thursday, June 25^th and Friday, June 26^th.

Ticketmaster is waiving the convenience charge when fans pick up their FreeFest tickets at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Customers also have the option to pay Ticketmaster to deliver their tickets. For more details on the ticketing, including options for donating money to youth homelessness and buying limited edition FreeFest T-shirts, check out virginmobilefreefest.com.

The lineup is not bad at all, especially in light of the new pricing plan.  Performers include Weezer, the newly resurrected Blink-182, Franz Ferdinand, Public Enemy, Jet, The National, Girl Talk, The Bravery, The Hold Steady, St. Vincent, Wale, and Taking Back Sunday, HOLY F*CK, Pete Tong, Danny Howells and Lee Burridge.

So enjoy some flashback tracks above, and get ready to click for free/benefit causes.

Everyone give a warm welcome to James Rodd, our newest contributor. This is his first piece, on what he believes drives pop music and culture. It is also our first staff op-ed article, falling under the series State of Mind. Enjoy, and feel free to comment in agreement or disagreement.

All my life I have heard people, whether it be the media or someone else, say that popular culture is cyclic and repetitive. Basically this means, things that were once “in” and fashionable will come back full circle at some point and be “in” and fashionable once again.

I don’t agree with this at all. In fact, I sincerely hope it is a fallacy because I am not looking forward to seeing my pre-middle aged ass in spandex or leather pants again, reliving my metal head days ca. 1987 – 1995.

Here’s how I see it: pop-culture is an amorphous shape.

Read the rest…