Your dose of adorable: A bunch of small British children offer their thoughts on Skrillex. (They're as baffled as we are.)

That one curly-haired Elton John fan is mint. And I don't know quite what the girl at 2:42 is saying, but I agree with her 100 percent.

ht: Meredith

via

Here's a '90s TV commercial for what has got to be the most PUNK compilation ever made. "It's loaded with our favorite tunes, man!" Everything about this screams authentic PUNK, from the metalhead wigs to the PUNK-AS-FUCK track selection. I don't know if I can handle this much PUNK!

Oh god, this is hilarious.

h/t: Nipper/Line Out

Seeing as the Mercury's former Pug* Editor is no longer a salaried employee of the paper, it falls to me to present you this. And so, here it is. Anything further I have to say will only cheapen the experience, so please enjoy: Bone Pugz.

Thanks to commenter Graham for the tip.

* and Music Too, I Guess

Unless you're living in a bubble, or just don't care about music, or like music pretty much but have an otherwise busy and full and rewarding life—then you already know SXSW is under way, with the music portion of the multi-pronged clusterfuck kicking off tomorrow. Hong Kong animators have taken it upon themselves to depict EXACTLY what Austin's big to-do is all about. So here is a perfectly realized depiction of what I'll be up to later this week. After seeing this, I don't even need to go.

via TDS

Oh my god. I love this man.

He probably shouldn't be driving.

Yeah. He's getting pretty old.

Utter truth, via The Onion:

PHILADELPHIA—A new study from the University of Pennsylvania revealed Wednesday that 81 percent of Americans experience muscle tension, elevated heart rate, and profuse sweating when asked what kind of music they most enjoy listening to. "I got so nervous I ended up just blurting out, 'Ween,' and sure, they're fine, but I have no idea why that was the first thing out of my mouth," said 28-year-old Richard Rowe, a participant in the study in which a request to specify even one genre preference induced stress levels seldom observed outside of military combat zones. "Then I muttered something about liking 'a lot '70s guitar stuff.' I hope that didn't make me sound lame." The doctors conducting the study recommended that people confronted with the question in real life should answer, "Yes, I like music," and then quickly walk away.

Normally I'll say "ANYTHING but country," and then vomit on myself. Otherwise, I'll end up awkwardly mentioning Duran Duran, which inevitably includes an long-winded explanation of a dance routine my bizarre kid self once choreographed and performed for this song...

...which is then concluded by the poor, unsettled listener walking away before they vomit on themselves.

Tee hee. Tee hee hee.

Also, TEE HEE.

(More tee hees here. Hat tip to Stereogum's Twitter feed for mining this little nugget of internet gold.)

This has been making the rounds, but it's good enough to re-post here to lighten up a gray Monday. Think your kids are special and gifted? You won't, after watching these eight- to 10-year-olds (known collectively as the Mini Band) perform Metallica's "Enter Sandman." It sounds better than Metallica has sounded for the past 18 years, really. This amazing performance took place at the Bucklebury Beer Fest (which sounds amazing in and of itself).

Ambient music luminary Tim Hecker has a new EP (released on Kranky) entitled Dropped Pianos that you can stream below in its entirety (via Altered Zones). This release is a collection of sketch pieces that Hecker penned in preparation for his brilliant, menacing 2010 LP, Ravedeath, 1972 —an album whose sound material was recorded in a cathedral in Reykjavik, Iceland over the course of just one day.

The compositions that appear on Dropped Pianos feel naked. That is especially if we're comparing them to their Ravedeath counterparts that thematically explored ideas of sonic collapse and disintegration through a complex assault on various intersections between layered noise, dissonance, and melody. On Dropped Pianos, Hecker's bare piano melodies stand at the front of the mix with only small hints of the ominous noise that would become so prominent on the final compositions. Although these sketches noticeably lack the additional coating of manipulation and sound material, their evolving textures and glacial movements feel no less restrained or commanding. This new release is a fascinating inside look at a composer working towards a masterpiece as well as a collection that stands confidently on its own.

LISTEN:
Tim Hecker: Dropped Pianos by alteredzones

You can now stream the entirety of Jens Lekman's new 5-song EP entitled An Argument With Myself a week ahead of its official release via Secretly Canadian. My first impression of this collection of songs is that they don't approach the pop bliss he achieved on his last record, Night Falls Over Kortedala. Rather, we find Jens elaborating upon his more narrative-driven songwriting style. The Graceland-sounding title track is an inner stream of consciousness about having an unpleasant time in Australia, there's also a song about trying to track down Kirsten Dunst in his Swedish hometown. Even though it's not his catchiest effort, I like how his personality seeps into these songs. He's a charming guy.

Click here to stream the EP (via TwentyFourBit). And watch this video of Jens performing and telling the long-winded back story to "Waiting for Kirsten":

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