I was cleaning out my wallet earlier and found a card for Focacceria, a really great Italian bistro that I visited on more than a few occasions this summer.

It’s located in the Village, just past the corner of MacDougal and Bleecker (87 MacDougal Street). If you’re in the city then do yourself a favor and check it out.  I promise that you will not leave hungry and that you will not have to spend more than $15. If it’s your first time in Manhattan then you’ll definitely want to explore the surrounding neighborhood too.

Oh, and make sure that you order bruschetta before your entree. I hated bruschetta until I tried it here. Fo’ real.

Apparently I’m not alone in my love for this tiny little bistro…

I was watching last night’s episode of Entourage and was more than pleasantly surprised to hear Something Is Not Right With Me - Cold War Kids’ lead single off their newest LP, “Loyalty To Loyalty” -  during the closing credits.

I have yet to hear the new album in it’s entirety, although I’ve been reading some less than stellar reviews. Either way, the single is great. If you like it, then I REALLY recommend you check out Hospital Beds, a track off of Cold War Kids’ 2006 album “Robbers & Cowards”. It could probably find its way onto my top 50 songs of all time list (if such a list existed).

Listen below and buy or sample the new album here (iTunes).

MySpace has decided to launch a new music service to compete against iTunes. Keep in mind that iTunes has surpassed both Best Buy and Wal-Mart to become the #1 music retailer in the United States. 

MySpace has teamed up with all four majors (EMI, Sony BMG, Warner, Universal) and Amazon’s online music store (the #4 music retailer in the US) to allow MySpace users to stream full tracks and then give them the choice to purchase these tracks off of the Amazon online music store.

Really MySpace? Your contribution to the music industry is offering us a slightly improved pay-per-download service? I mean, it’s great that we can stream entire tracks from all four majors - but big deal. I can’t take those tracks home with me on my iPod, not to mention the fact that the majority of music I listen to doesn’t even come from the majors. 

This is just another band-aid solution to a much larger problem that no one with any real power seems inclined to address yet. 

There’s always another possibility - that this is just the first step in what MySpace hopes to grow into a much more comprehensive music service.

As for right now, I really can’t see the value to this service. It’s definitely a step in the right direction; but I was really expecting something much more impressive and forward thinking - especially if it intends to legitimately compete against iTunes.

 Give me something worth paying for and I will.

Click here to be linked to the article

I know it’s only Thursday - but I really think that this is a wicked track that could not wait. 

The band doesn’t really stray too far from the sound of their self-titled LP, but that’s alright. Remember that the Vampire Weekend repertoire has consisted of about the same 10 or 12 songs for the past year - so any kind of new material is more than welcome.

The song was produced by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo - the same guy who scored all but one of Wes Anderson’s films - so I am inclined to love this song. You should too.

I thought I should add that Vampire Weekend has sold 300,000 copies of their debut album so far. They did this on an indie label (XL) with very little radio support. What the shit. How does that happen!?!

It probably has something to do with the fact that they write THE catchiest songs that anyone has heard in a while. The band is about to embark on a full European tour before coming back home to a couple of shows in NYC in December.

Well, their new song is called Ottoman and it’s on the soundtrack for Michael Cera’s new movie, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. 

Listen…

I was killing time earlier today when I saw somewhere that it was Bill Murray’s birthday a few days ago. Happy belated birthday Bill.

Here are a few of the best movies of all time according to me - all of which star Bill Murray and are written/directed by Wes Anderson (who will receive his own birthday wishes in good time).

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissous - trailer here
The Royal Tenenbaums - trailer here
Rushmore - trailer here

Although fans have undoubtedly already heard the record by now, Kings of Leon officially released their fourth LP today, “Only By The Night”. 

I think it’s safe to say that this band won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. The sound on the new record can only be described as BIGGER. It’s KOL for the masses - anthemic choruses that are sure to take them from auditorium and club venues to the arenas. 

Personally, I love it; but I think that a lot of fans are going to have a hard time making the jump from KOL’s more raw, southern rock-tinged material that we’re used to. You can probably also expect a relentless wave of negative reviews from critics; but I’m willing to bet that a string of sold-out arena dates are just around the corner - and you can’t argue with that. 

Anyway, check out the album’s opening track Closer below. You can sample or buy the rest of the album here (iTunes).

Mike’s top picks from “Only By The Night”: I Want You, Use Somebody, Manhattan