Hi we’re The Impossibles from Austin, Texas! Not exactly, but I wish. It’s the latest from former Impossibles front man Rory Alan Philips (the one in the middle of the photo), Rory and the Artificial Heart.

Rory Allen Phillips hails from Austin, Texas and has had a part in many a band. Possibly the most notable being one of my favorite bands of all time The Impossibles. Some of the other bands he’s been a part of include Imbroco, The Stereo, and most recently Slowreader (the Elliot Smith inspired acoustical, soft indie type thing done with fellow former Impossibles member Gabe Hascall).

While Rory has mainly been producing music the past few years, including Recover, At All Cost, and Kissing Chaos, he’s had his share of personal endeavors including the20goto10, Amex, and Nineteen Ninety Now. Rory’s current project is Rory and the Artificial Heart along with former Impossible bassist Craig Tweedy (in the photo, on the right).

Official-ish Bio: Rory and the Artificial Heart are a five piece rock outfit hailing from beautiful Austin, Texas. The band started playing shows in June of 2006 with their sound evolving from a fusion of new school rock and up tempo disco by way of a raw emotional state characterized by the vocals and tense guitar hooks. Featuring some of the best local musicians from all genres Rory and the Artificial Heart bring the rock in a way missing from the current music scene.

This is Rory and the Artificial Heart, the song is Self Esteem, the album not yet named. You can hear this on the CounterAgent podcast episode 26. You can also listen to more on their MySpace page.

Boom!

This weeks featured artist is… Alucard! The song, Resignation Song. The album, After Dark. Fun Fact: Alucard spells Dracula backwards.

Band Members: Mike, Ryan, Colin, Tommy and Nick

Bio:

This is where we tell you about our band, Alucard. We’ve never been very good at writing these stupid things, even after years of playing in bands and having to think of slick, interesting ways to relate mundane information about what we listen to, what other bands we play with, why you should buy our new record, and so on.

Even describing the sound of our music with words like “fast”, “melodic”, “emotional”, and “dark” seems pointless because by the time you read this, you will have no doubt heard at least one or two of the songs we have posted online and you can decide what you think it sounds like yourself.

I suppose we could try to impress you by telling you about the bands we’ve played with, like Chiodos, The Black Dahlia Murder, Finger Eleven, Silverstein, Boys Night Out, Ultimate Fakebook, Misery Signals, No Motiv, etc. etc. But this just seems silly. How many times have you gone and seen a really good band play with a bunch of other bands that suck?

Check them out online at: Official Site, PureVolume

Listen to them on Episode 25 of the CounterAgent Podcast.

Boom!

How cool is that. I’ve been meaning to post this for the past week. Listen and enjoy as Andrea Vadrucci Italian drummer takes what was already some of the best 8-bit music from the NES classic-ish title Super Mario Brothers 2 and makes it even better. He plays along with his sweet drum kit and somehow makes the nostalgia even sweeter.

Check out his site for more drum related videos he’s done. Oh, and it is in Italian. You can also check out this cool video he did drumming along to some of the most annoying cell phone ring tones.

Boom!

Any surprise that all the top downloads are all the most pop songs of the year? What was the most popular song of the year? Ready for it? Fergie with Big Girls Don’t Cry. That’s definitely my pick. I mean, I bought that song several times and gifted it several more. Check out the full list on iTunes. The list kind of proves why iTunes is the leader and not a more indie artist focused music download service like eMusic (which is great if you like stuff nobody knows about).

Boom!

The social music revolution

Last.fm is a site filled to the brim with music. It syncs to your iTunes and Windows media player to create a personalized station. Last.fm will play songs it thinks you may like. This will introduce you to new artists. I have Last.fm downloaded onto my PC and prefer playing this rather than my own library. One of my favorite things it provides is the bio of the artist. I like to have some insight into the singer’s life. This can sometimes make or break the song for me. I know, I’m that fickle. Also you can “start a station” by typing in a band. Last.fm will then start playing all songs linked up to that artist. You can share music, create playlists.

And for all the musicians out there, you can promote your music FREE on Last.fm. That’s not all! You can also get weekly airplay stats. Isn’t that incredible! Go already and sign up! And let me know what you think.

Digg the song. Or is it Digg this song? Whatever it is it’s not bad. Performed by Kina Grannis. This isn’t the first song she’s done. Just the most internet related. Check out some of Kina’s other songs on her YouTube page here.

So, the story doesn’t end here. She’s looking to make it to the Super Bowl. In a contest from Doritos. You play it. We air it.

It’s only 3 days until the voting ends (December 31^st)! We are down to the top 10 bands. The winner will have their music video played during the super bowl AND a record deal with Interscope Records. So who should you vote for? Well, duh. The half Japanese(?) hot chick! Am I right? Kina Grannis is her name, being hot is her game. Really, she’s actually pretty talented. A guitar player and singer and did I say she was cute? She grew up in Mission Viejo, CA and recently moved to Austin, TX. Which by the way is only the best city EVER? So go already and check her out. Vote for her at www.crashthesuperbowl.com.

Wouldn’t life without DRM be grand? The folks at Warner Music and Amazon.com are going to start offering DRM free tracks. It took a while but finally Warner was convinced to start offering their music DRM free on Amazon. Looks like iTunes might have a bit of competition.

While there is still no word on Sony BMG going DRM free with anybody, this is a pretty big force that they will have to reckon with. If Sony gets on board with the DRM free craze it could be curtains for the CD. I personally am a fan of Cd’s. I like have the jewel cases and the booklets. That said I haven’t listened to a CD in years. It gets ripped onto my PC and then put on my iPod right away for the first listen. Granted the end of Cd’s is far off, this might be a sign of the times.

Run to Your Grave from the mae shi on Vimeo.

I found this great band and they had this great video, it’s The Mae Shi with the song Run To Your Grave. I found them on Chime.tv, which is a great place to watch videos online. The video is actually over at Vimeo, which is another great place to find stuff not on YouTube. I just thought I’d share it with the CounterAgent audience. I was also wondering, should I continue writing and posting about music related stuff here on CounterAgent or on the new SuperLame spinoff?

Boom!

That’s right everybody. The Counter Agent Network (C.A.N. is kind of a crappy acronym) is born. We have just added the new site SuperLame.com to our hopefully expanding network. So you ask, “What is SuperLame.com?” Well, I’ll tell you. It’s your online source for Movies, TV, Comics, Cartoons, Pop Culture, Art, Music, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Nerdliness, The Internets, Food & Drink, etc… It’s a great new place for all the great geeky, nerdy, awesome stuff in the world of underground pop culture. If that even makes sense? Just check it out, maybe you can help me describe it.

In addition to adding this site to the newly formed CounterAgent Network, we will also be refining what CounterAgent is. It will now include only games, tech, and music. That’s all. Check out SuperLame.com!

Boom!

Let me know what you think of this story. Leave your comments below or email me direct.

Everyone knows the best place to play the Nintendo DS is in the bathroom while you rest and think about your day. Who needs a newspaper when you can blast aliens and save princesses? Not me. Why do you think the DS is the most popular system around? It’s not because of the Pictochat, I can tell you that much.

Anyway, let’s get to that countdown thing already. The Top Ten Toilet Titles! I had to use the word “titles” because games doesn’t start with the letter “t” and that’s no good. So here it goes.
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