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hey hey! despite the fact i heard hancock wasn’t getting the best reviews - i decided to go see it earlier this afternoon down at the grove (of course first i grabbed a quick bite to eat at the farmers’ market) the theater was quite packed and i wouldn’t say it was the best movie i ever saw but i really do like will smith - i usually try to catch most of his flicks - and then you’ve got charlize theron (who can actually give angelina jolie a run for her money in the looks department - she’s super gorgeous!) tossed in with the always adorable & endearing jason bateman - some laughs & thrills and a plot twist i didn’t see coming (but i should have…) all in all i liked it a lot - it wasn’t too deep - just a totally fun summer flick! (i did like wanted a lot better but it’s a totally different movie) however i don’t think there’ll be a ‘hancock’ franchise - i think one film is probably enough! next up for me at the movies is wall-e and the dark knight (when it opens on july 18th - it’s already receiving rave reviews) i can’t wait to see both of ‘em! i hope everyone is enjoying the 4th of july holiday - i’m about to grill up some hotdogs - people are lighting firecrackers outside (plus i can hear the fireworks going off at the hollywood bowl) the sound is driving my dogs nuts - oh good times! popbytes over & out for tonight…xxoo

Sub Pop’s celebrating its 20th Anniversary: We told you about that and the SP20 festival. Blender did an oral and visual history titled “Going Out of Business Since 1988!” to honor the occasion. It’s not Please Kill Me-sized or on the scale of Thurston Moore and Byron Coley’s upcoming No Wave book, but it’s a fun read with bits from Chris Cornell, Lou Barlow, Mark Arm, Greg Dulli, founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, the aforementioned Moore, Jack Endino, Isaac Brock, etc. A tidbit from Arm:

Cameron Crowe put Mudhoney on the Singles soundtrack, and in typical wiseass fashion, we wrote [the scene-eviscerating] “Overblown.” Were the lyrics [”And you’re up there, shirtless and flexin’/Display of a macho freak”] really inspired by a Soundgarden video? Well, Chris Cornell was taking his shirt off from day one. It just seemed kinda gross, like, I’m a good-looking model rock guy. But if I had it to show, I’d probably do it, too.

There are others.

Last night Beck did in L.A. what he loves to do in L.A., hitting the Echo (or, Echoplex) for a “secret show” and work through some rarities — in this case, stuff from the out-any-day-now Modern Guilt. According to LA Weekly (via TDS), it was a “not-quite-packed” affair which featured some reworkings, like a My Bloody Valentine-y (yes, they are everywhere) fuzzed-up take on Sea Change’s spare and broken ballad “Lost Cause,” as well as the debut of new tunes including “Gamma Ray,” “Replica,” and the title track from Mr. Hansen’s new Danger Mouse-stamped LP. So here, a first listen to “Modern Guilt,” thanks to our L.A.-based YouTube Samaritan:

Brody Jenner, son of Bruce Jenner and The Hills regular, has signed with MTV to do six episodes of Bromance. The reality show pits contestants against each other in challenges to see who’ll ultimately become Brody’s bitch in his entourage.
Along the way, contestants will be whittled down via “Hot Tub Elimination Ceremonies” after which rejected …

2 down, 2 to go. The Cure’s monthly march of singles in anticipation of LP13 is well underway, and gets a new chapter today with “Freakshow.” Halfway into this thing we can say it’s not exactly a hit parade. It’s a hit-or-miss parade. Now nobody’s gonna say “The Only One” is groundbreaking, and that’s because it isn’t, but it brought to mind some of Robert’s sorta upbeat and poppy, lovelorn jangle gems, and that’s more than OK with us. “Freakshow” also is not groundbreaking, but it is a different sort of tune: different because it’s a mildly funky, cowbell and shaker rocker, with lots of wah-wah guitars, and different because it could maybe have been written by a high school band? I mean, granted, one with a legendary voice (I’d sign them if I saw them at the talent show, if that was still a thing), but still — that verse is just rote and plodding wah-funk. The hook has a moment, though. I know that’s not a glowing endorsement, but still all this can be yours for a dollar at iTunes.